Many Are the Deceivers
by writerbug85
Summary: Takes place prior to the Evil Queen's curse and continues into Storybrooke. Red Riding Hood makes a deal with Rumpelstiltskin, a deal unlike any other he has made before. Goes AU and remains there.
1. Chapter 1: A Strange Deception

Many Are the Deceivers

A STRANGE DECEPTION

"And, saying these words, this wicked wolf fell upon Little Red Riding Hood, and ate her all up."

(Charles Perrault, _Little Red Riding Hood_)

_A chill ran down the length of her spine, despite the woolen cloak that covered her form. Her grandmother's warnings echoed in her mind. Beware the woods. Beware the wolves. Red Riding Hood shuddered. Superstition and excessive worry. That was all. Her grandmother was just trying to instill in her a healthy level of fear of the unknown. The forest, though dark and immersed in terrifying crunching noises, was really nothing to be feared. No creature lurked about with the sole intent of making her its prey. Of course not. What a silly notion!_

_"Hello little girl."_

_His voice cut through the darkness and into her very soul. Red turned to face its owner, but twirled around and saw no one. Her heart raced. Perhaps it was just her imagination taking hold of her? Perhaps her grandmother's silly warnings and superstitions had imbedded themselves so deeply in her mind that…._

_"I said hello."_

_A soft touch on her shoulder assured Red of the solidity of her forest companion. She whipped her head around, her red cloak's hood falling back and revealing her cascading locks of ebony hair. A smile greeted her. Warm, welcoming, yellowed. She suppressed a grimace. His skin was golden, his appearance filthy, but enticing. His eyes danced as he watched her appraisal of his form._

_"So long it takes you to speak! Were you warned of the dangerous forest, dearie?"_

_Red nodded._

_"I was warned of wolves."_

_He laughed; a cavernous echo in his chest that did little to ease the girl's spirits._

_"I am no wolf."_

_In an instant his hand was around her neck, his mouth at her ear, their bodies pressed up against a large oak. He pinned her against the trunk with his lithe form._

_"I am so much more than a wolf, dearie."_

_As quickly as he had pinned her against the tree, he was gone, leaving Red gasping and bewildered. She scoured the area around her, but to no avail. He was gone. Who was he? An unfamiliar heat built in the pit of her stomach, she throbbed in areas she didn't know could do such a thing. After a moment's repose, and assuring herself the man had left, she continued on her way for a few steps. A growl stopped her; a cold, animalistic noise that shook her to her very core. In front of her stood a wolf. A true, terrifying wolf, its jaws dripping with saliva as it took in her form. She shrieked, horrified. The creature leapt for her throat; there was no way out, she was about to die. She made her peace with her maker, begged her grandmother's forgiveness, and prepared for that final, devastating blow._

_It didn't come._

_She opened her blue eyes, the wolf was frozen mid-air before her, its jaws opened wide with vicious intent. She blinked. It remained frozen before her. The hand that had so recently been wrapped around her throat caressed her, its digits railing from her jugular to her rapidly beating heart._

_"I have a proposition for you, little darling. Agree to it and this wolf shall never be of danger to you."_

_"And if I refuse?"_

_The man waved his hand. The wolf blinked. Red gasped. She did not wish to die so violently, surely any deal made, even with the devil she was almost sure this man was paled in comparison to being torn asunder by the wretched beast hovering in front of her eyes._

_"I won't refuse. What is the bargain?"_

_"I want something of yours. Something precious. Something valuable."_

_Red looked into his eyes, truly, for the first time. The sparkling wit she found there confused and enticed her. But now was not the time to become entranced by something so foolish as a man's eyes, not with the snarling beast so close to her precious throat._

_"I have nothing of value. I've no money. No connections. Nothing to tempt you."_

_He looked over her form lecherously._

_"Are you quite certain of that? I want something precious. Do you have nothing that you consider precious?"_

_She blushed. She had never…she could not…one look at the wolf before her sealed her fate._

_"I am untouched. Is that truly of consequence to you?"_

_He grinned. So vile a thing she had never seen prior; it was intoxicating in its wretchedness._

_"I've so many contracts for the unborn I…." He trailed off, a gleam in his eyes. "I would very much like something tangible of my own I can enjoy."_

_Her jaw quivered. She bit her lip._

_"Who are you?"_

_"You know who I am."_

_"Rumpelstiltsken."_

_He bowed._

_"At your service."_

_Intrinsically Red knew how his deals worked. There was always a catch, always something extra that Rumpelstiltsken got out of his bargains. But, with death glaring her quite literally in the face, what was she to do?_

_"Where shall I sign?"_

_He manifested a long piece of parchment and a quill pen with a flick of his wrist. He smiled at her, his excitement palpable. This was quite the new ground for him, quite the new deal. But he would have enough babies of royalty to deal with once his plans were completed. He needed…he deserved something just for himself. Rumpelstiltsken handed the pen to Red Riding Hood._

_"Sign on the dotted line, my pet, and we shall have our deal."_

_She laid the paper across his back and signed without the bat of an eye. He laughed uproariously, gleefully, wretchedly. Another flick of his wrist and the contract and pen were gone, as was the beastly wolf. In his hand, Rumpelstiltsken now held a crystalline wolf. He handed it to Red._

_"A reminder."_

_She nodded._

_"Thank you."_

_He chuckled. She glared at him."_

_"Why do you laugh?"_

_"It's nothing."_

_"Enlighten me."_

_"No one ever thanks me, especially once they know the full payment for their end of the bargain. But then, you don't quite know now do you, poppet?"_

_She knew it was too good to be true._

_"You want my body. My innocence. Take it. You have earned your payment, I shall not protest."_

_He giggled with insane laughter, calming himself after a few moments repast in the action._

_"That is not all I asked for, sweet, though I am exceedingly glad you will not put up a fight. It makes these kind of things so very difficult, you know."_

_She blanched. He stalked towards her, pressing her back against that same horrid tree he had her pinned against before their deal. His cool hands ripped open her cloak exposing the small dress she wore beneath it. He was everywhere on her body, his hands roaming her warm flesh; he cupped a breast, she arched against him and against her own will. His eyes found hers, silently holding his sanity for the time being. He kissed her, his surprisingly full lips pressing against her untouched red mouth. His tongue sought entrance into that mouth, a desire into which she unblinkingly lost herself. Red kissed him back with abandon, one of her long legs wrapping around his waist of its own volition, drawing his hardening body closer to hers. He groaned against her, tearing her dress into shreds, leaving her in naught but the cloak tied around her neck and a few scraps of underwear he quickly ridded her of. His fingers sought purchase between her dampened folds as he continued to roughly kiss her sweet, red lips. Never before had she been touched so, and Red found that she was losing herself to the dreaded Rumpelstiltsken; when his thumb flicked across her swollen nub and she spasmed in bliss around his golden fingers, she could not bring herself to regret her decision to sign her life away._

_As the beauty before him recovered from what he very correctly guessed was her first orgasm, Rumpelstiltsken readied his hardened cock at her swollen entrance. He nipped at her neck and she groaned his name through clenched teeth._

_"This is going to hurt, pet."_

_She nodded. It was all the assent he required. He thrust into her warm passage, tearing through her innocence with ease. Tears filled her eyes, but Red kept her leg wrapped around his waist; he slowed his thrusts for a few moments before he could no longer contain himself. He buried himself inside of her to the hilt, his mouth continuing its assault on hers, kissing her roughly as he rammed his hardness into her. She came around him, an action he had doubted she would be able to achieve in his taking of her innocence. As her walls pulsed around him, milking his member, he could no longer keep control. He came into her in groaning spurts, moaning her name again and again against her neck. They stood against the tree for moments or hours…eventually he took her cloak off of her and laid it on the ground beneath them. He laid down, pulling the shivering woman onto the makeshift blanket with him. He wrapped an arm around her and found himself immensely surprised when she curled her body against his own. He listened to her breath: shallow and light. He wished forever to hear that noise next to him, to forever have her body in close proximity to his own. She raised herself up so she could stare intently into his eyes._

_"Is it always like that?"_

_"What?"_

_"You know."_

_He laughed._

_"Ah. That."_

_"Yes, that."_

_"No."_

_She pouted. She had hoped…he brushed a stray hair out of her eyes and smiled in earnest._

_"It's better."_

_Contented with his answer, Red snuggled back into Rumpelstiltsken's arms._

_"And our deal? Is it complete?"_

_"Never."_

_"I do not wish for you to think of me as a welcher."_

_"The deal is ongoing."_

_She raised an eyebrow, he heard rather than watched the action._

_"And its endpoint?"_

_"After the end of eternity…and two weeks beyond."_

_"Aside from this…arrangement, Rumpelstiltsken, what are the stipulations of the bargain? What is the catch?"_

_"Why do you need to know?"_

_"I have already agreed to it, you can have no qualms about telling me to what I have agreed. I shall not back out."_

_He grinned._

_"You agreed to be mine. Always. In this world, in the next, in the every. Mine and no one else's."_

_"Do I receive assurance of a similar sort of exclusivity?"_

_"That was not part of the bargain."_

_"Make an amendment."_

_He glared at her for a moment before his crazed laughter again filled the woods._

_"We shall see."_

_"I must return to my grandmother's house…she will be waiting for me. I would hate for a search party to find us."_

_He stood, holding his golden-skinned hand out to her in assistance._

_"Would you hate to be found with one such as myself?"_

_Taking his offered hand, Red stood and wrapped her rumpled cloak around herself, hiding her nudity from Rumpelstiltsken and the other prying eyes of the forest._

_"I would not wish for any harm to befall you for any mistaken thoughts any hunters or grandmothers would punish you for…I intend on honoring my part of the bargain, sir, as you have fulfilled yours."_

_With that, she picked up the crystal wolf from its resting place on the ground, turned on her heel, and walked away. Rumpelstiltsken watched as she retreated towards her grandmother's house. He suppressed a groan when his eyes fell on the blood-stained tree trunk against which he had stolen her innocence. He would make sure to enjoy this bargain until the end of his days, that much was certain._


	2. Chapter 2: Beguiling

"We are never deceived; we deceive ourselves."

(Johann Wolfgang von Goethe)

/

_He had been hoodwinked. Locked away. Trapped. It was not fair. But at least he was assured of his eventual revenge. He would be paid in full for all of the agreements he had made over the years. He licked his lips; he'd enjoy the payment for one deal in particular. He had not grown tired of Red since their deal was first consummated. Quite the opposite. He was obsessed with her, more so than he had been with anything or anyone prior to her. To call what he felt for her love was laughable; no mere word could describe what he felt for her. He was drenched in her, gloriously so. He glanced around the cell in which he was trapped. A sigh passed his lips. He couldn't escape. Not without assistance._

_That damned Cinderella had forced his hand. No matter. She would pay dearly, he laughed, well, she already had paid quite the steep price. And she would pay with far more than simple tears and lost love. Rumpelstiltsken tapped his foot impatiently. He was so very bored. The Prince and Snow White were having another wedding celebration likely right at the moment, I mean really it had been months since their wedding…could they be any more droll? He sat in squalor, in a dungeon, alone and unattended. It would not do. He smiled as a familiar scent wafted ever-so-subtly across the stagnant air of his prison._

_"Red," his voice ground out, rough and edgy from limited use._

_Red Riding Hood stepped out of the darkness, drawing a black hood back from her head. She stared at him, a brief flash of sadness flickering in her eyes before she broke into a smile._

_"How did you know it was me?"_

_Rumpelstiltsken sniffed the air and turned his flashing eyes upon her._

_"I can smell your soul from a mile away, pet, you reek of me."_

_She blushed. Funny that despite all of the depraved things she had allowed him to do to her body and mind, he could still make her blush. She sauntered up to her lover's prison and wrapped her hands around the spikes that held him trapped within. His hands covered hers and he pressed a hard kiss to her knuckles. She moaned in reaction._

_"You look terrible, darling. What are they feeding you?"_

_He chuckled._

_"They aren't, poppet."_

_She pouted and caressed his face with her right hand. From beneath her black cloak, she drew out a small basket with her left hand. He smiled broadly. His girl never let him down. She pulled out a loaf of fresh bread, some cheese, and a bottle of wine for him. He ate it with gusto while she watched with rapt attention._

_"I'm sorry I couldn't bring anything more filling, Rummy."_

_He rolled his eyes._

_"I've asked you not to call me that, dearie."_

_She stuck her tongue out at him._

_"I must have forgotten. You've been stuck in this damned cell for so long, I've had no one to punish me for my indiscretions."_

_His eyes flared at that and his hands grabbed her throat, roughly drawing her as close to himself as he could manage._

_"You haven't gone back on your promise now, have you, Red?"_

_She shook her head even as the lightheadedness of suffocation threatened to envelop her. He loosened his grip, but his hands remained gently wrapped around her throat. He drew her into a plundering kiss, which she hungrily returned. She groaned in realization that they were very likely incapable of expressing their feelings as they truly wished to. Sensing her frustrations, Rumpelstiltsken licked a path from the nape of her neck to her ear. He whispered in her ear, his voice grainy, its rumblings pooling at the apex of her thighs._

_"There are other ways, love. As well you know."_

_Her eyes sparkled._

_"I do not want to disappoint you, it has been so very long."_

_He cooed in her ear, his hand stroking its way down her side to rest on her thigh._

_"You could never disappoint me, dearest."_

_With a smile she knelt before him and, in the grime and dirt, took his stiffened member into her mouth. He groaned, his hands gripping her hair in his fingers. He watched her bob up and down his shaft, enraptured. He came in a fury of moans, grunting his release into her waiting mouth. She licked him clean, righted his scant clothing, and then returned to her position standing before him. He leaned on the spikes which kept him trapped physically, staring at the woman who had unwittingly trapped his very soul. A soul which he had never thought existed now was forever intertwined with Red Riding Hood's. No matter where they went, he would not lose her. Even if he had to make a deal where he was not in control. She was worth it._

_It terrified him._

_Begrudgingly, Red left Rumpelstiltsken's side, promising that she would return at every opportune moment. He kissed her, somehow knowing their visits and time together, at least in this state of sentience, would be depressingly limited._

_/_

_Red Riding Hood had visited Rumpelstiltsken successfully three times over the course of the nine months following Snow White's marriage to her beloved Prince. Red had been caught before reaching Rumpelstiltsken dozens of times since his imprisonment, they had their tête-à-têtes interrupted unduly six times, and she had been literally pulled out from the midst of the spiked bars entrapping him just as she was about to successfully pass through them to finally hold onto her lover. Somehow she wasn't seen as an enemy, only an overzealous do-gooder intent on giving some semblance of happiness to one who didn't deserve a scrap of it. Prince Charming and his bride were not pleased, but Snow White had spoken on the young girl's behalf, calling her actions misguided, but indicative of a heart which only sought to bring joy to the less fortunate. Though Snow White did not know the reason Red so desired to be close to Rumpelstiltsken, and how could she? She was blinded by the virtues of true love. Pah! What need did Red or Rumpelstiltsken have for such a silly notion? They did not need true love. They had each other. They had their pulsating hunger for one another. They had deadly loyalty. True love was a farce. Their reality was truth; their feelings for one another ran deeper than any other creatures in their world. They could kiss or kill one another at the drop of a hat; that, my precious ones, was their true love._

_Rumpelstiltsken waited for the Queen's curse to take hold of their world; he knew he would be wealthy, be comfortable, be powerful whatever this new existence was. And, by luck of his everlasting bargains, he knew that no matter what, his Red would be at his side, one way or another. As the Queen was exacting her vengeance on the royal couple above, as Snow White's daughter was saved from a terrible fate, as the world crashed down around them, Red Riding Hood slid through the prison's spikes and mounted Rumpelstiltsken, repeating his name and her love for him over and over again as he thrust into her heat. They were each other's destiny; a fact which not even a wicked queen's curse could break._


	3. Chapter 3: Remembrance

REMEMBRANCE

"When love is not madness, it is not love."

(Pedro Calderon de la Barca)

We must pause for a moment. A remembrance. The cursed fog swelled around them as Rumpelstiltsken pistoned into his supine lover. His mind focused on his most cherished memory. Red was in it. But of course. She was in his _everything_. He stared into her too-blue eyes, focusing so desperately on keeping her memory he nearly burst. His fingers gripped her thighs, tightly, bruising the pale, delicate flesh into a deep purple shade. His nails dug into her skin, tiny droplets of blood forming at the surface; if he could only scar himself into her memory, they would at the very least be able to hold onto each other. She called out his name, her velvet walls pulsating around his cock. He reciprocated, calling her name in return, her _true_ name, as their consciousness faded.

_She was tied to the bed posts of the large feather bed in his hidden forest cottage. Red was the only other being to pass through the doors and leave as alive as she had arrived. She arched against his smooth palms as he caressed her mound. He whispered into her soul, his voice surrounding her every thought._

"_You wouldn't make me beg, Red darling, hmm?" _

_He leaned forward and licked a warm trail up her already wet slit. His fingers pressed into her as he flicked his tongue against her clit. She came in grunting pulses, drenching his golden fingers. He laughed lightly against her, kissing a lengthy path from her mound to the nape of her neck. His hands ghosted across her breasts, her nipples peaking in response. She giggled against his ministrations, well aware of where their game would lead. She shook her head, her free black tresses splaying out against the red bed sheets in which he would forevermore cover his bed._

"_I can't tell you. It will give you complete power over me." _

_He growled and entered her in one hard thrust, one golden hand around her neck, the other roughly pinching one of her raised nipples. His breath was hot at her ear as he pushed into her repeatedly, deeply, and divinely. _

"_I can make it worth your while," he sing-songed._

_She sucked his right ear lobe between her teeth, her tongue running against his golden skin. _

"_You know the only thing I want." _

"_Your freedom?"_

_She laughed as his thrusts quickened._

"_Hardly. What would I do with freedom? Being tethered to you has made me freer than I've ever been. No, no, I want you…just as you have me," she said, flexing her inner muscles so she nearly strangled his cock. "Give me assurance you'll always be mine and I will give you everything you desire of me." _

"_You've no contract for me to sign." _

_She glanced down at her unmarred stomach. _

"_You already own my body, Rumpelstiltsken, use me as your contract. Mark me." _

_He nearly came at the notion. In an instant a dagger was in his hand and pushing lightly into her torso, just beneath her pert breasts. He continued to thrust into her even as he shallowly carved an elaborate letter "R" across her body._

"_Done." _

_He dropped the dagger on the bed beside them, she leaned up and kissed him roughly, wishing her arms and legs were freed so she could wrap them around him. With deep thrusts he ravaged her; as Red felt him begin to contract, a moment before he filled her with his seed, she whispered in his ear, her voice cream and honey in his ear. _

"_Rebecca. My true name is Rebecca." _

_He echoed her name as he filled her, pulsing his heat into her warm passage. _

_/_

_/_

Ruby sighed as she cleared the last dishes off of the last dirtied table in her grandmother's diner. Her feet were _killing _her. Stupid heels. Stupid waitressing. Stupid…a tinny bell echoed in the otherwise silent diner. She didn't look up.

"We're closed. Sorry. Come back in the morning."

"That _is _unfortunate. I was looking forward to something to whet my appetite."

Ruby's lined eyes flashed up and stared at Mr. Gold, who made no attempt to hide his lecherous appraisal of her form. She throbbed at the apex of her thighs; her heart raced…damn him that a second's glance at him could turn her from towering Amazon into lovesick schoolgirl.

"Gold. I'm _working_. What do you want?"

He rolled his tongue behind his teeth and stared at her.

"What I always want, dear. Come along now. Your dear granny must be fast asleep already. We have a prior engagement we need to attend to."

She arched a manicured brow in disbelief.

"A prior engagement? Goldie, baby, you know full well we don't have anything planned for tonight."

He smirked at her. She blushed, suddenly wishing she was wearing more clothes.

"Well…nothing aside from our _usual _arrangements."

Mr. Gold held a hand out to her, gripping his cane in the other.

"Well then. Come along, poppet."

/

She was his from as early as she could recall. Her memory of her childhood was, admittedly, not very solid. But in her life, Ruby could always count on Mr. Gold's presence. She had been a somewhat awkward teen, but had blossomed into a bombshell almost the moment she had reached her eighteenth year. That was four years ago. She should have been graduating college, but instead, she was walking hand-in-hand with one of the town's most hated denizens, the man to whom she was forever promised, the man who had taken her innocence.

They had to be discreet. His position in Storybrooke, her grandmother's moralistic sensibilities…there was much that could be lost if their arrangement was ever discovered. But it was too sweet, their couplings frantic, luxurious, intoxicating. He was the only man who had ever had her…had ever tasted her. He encouraged her to express herself in her manner of dress; encouraged her to appear as loose and lewd as she liked. But their arrangement…their deal…stopped her from ever seeking out any other amusements. Not that she would wish to; the lithe man, surely decades older than herself, was surprisingly limber and passionate in the bedroom. In _his _bedroom. Well, they very well couldn't do anything in her bedroom! Her grandmother would have a conniption!

Mr. Gold escorted her to his pawn shop; she smiled, knowingly. Already she knew of his quirks. When he desired slow, passionate ecstasy, he took her to his home. When his tastes were more of the depraved fashion…she suppressed a giggle. Yes. Some time spent with Mr. Gold in his shop was right at the top of her menu. She passed her hand across the shirt that barely covered her midriff. The cut top _did, _however, cover her treasured tattoo…a large, scrolling letter 'R.'


	4. Chapter 4: Of Shooting Stars and Wishes

*Author's note: just in case this isn't quite clear enough, italicized passages denote a memory, a flashback, or what have you. Enjoy. /blb

OF SHOOTING STARS AND WISHES BOLD

"I don't think of all the misery, but of all the beauty that still remains."

(Anne Frank)

Ruby was splayed out on Mr. Gold's bed, fast asleep. The past few hours had been hard on her. _He _had been hard on her, as he so often was. He chuckled, the sound low and deep in his chest. Purple bruises were threatening to worsen just under her creamy white skin, in patterns which echoed the exact size of Mr. Gold's hands. He admired them, admired her. Ruby's presence had become so enmeshed in his own, he could hardly tell who he had ever been before her. He shrugged off his jacket, stepped out of his pants, and climbed into his bed, wrapping his body around hers. Funny how intricately perfect their fitting together was; almost as if they were made for each other. A memory threatened to spark in his cortex. Something held it at bay. Instead, he dwelt on the preceding few hours spent in his lover's company. She was not to leave his side again. Of that he would make certain when the morning sun broke.

/

/

They had coupled frantically, savagely, disastrously, in his shop for close to an hour, surrounded by antique clocks, pawned jewels, and unsatisfied contracts. After they had basked in the afterglow of mutual release, he convinced her, with honeyed words and sugared promises of joy, to join him in his home for the evening. She had agreed, against her better judgment, she rarely went into his home and when she did, it was with one purpose in mind, a purpose they had filled, or so said the aching bruises on her thighs; her blood had not yet found its way back to her brain, obviously, and thus she submitted to his request. The evening had been surprisingly warm and clear; they walked to his expansive home in near silence until Ruby caught sight of a falling meteorite. She gasped and grabbed for Gold's hand, clenching it tightly, and pointing to the heavens with her free hand.

"Oh! Look! A shooting star! Quick, make a wish!"

Mr. Gold's eyes brushed over her face; her blue eyes were closed tight, she held her breath with a smile on pursed lips. He suppressed a groan. Oh he _knew _just what he wished for; he wished for the same thing at every opportunity, but it came to no fruition. He wished, fervently, _desperately_, for the clouded memories to clear in his mind. He knew something was missing, some dreadful vitally important something. So much was so very distorted; so much was a mystery to him. He looked at his beautiful companion, at the way she released her bated breath, at her flaring red cheeks, so rosy from her internalized wishing, her bright eyes sparkling for him. He couldn't definitively recall a time before Ruby. He should. He was twice her age and more. But he couldn't remember, not with the clarity of mind he so prided himself in possessing. He stopped himself from scowling, not wishing to upset the beauty before him. Against his normally disbelieving manner, he silently whispered a new desire to the heavens.

He smiled and drew the hand of his lover to his lips. As he pressed a soft kiss to her knuckles and led her down the expansive cobblestone pathway which led to his home, he repeated the wish over and over again. He had previously wished for clarification, and would continue to do so hereafter, the fulfillment of his wish always seemed to elude his grasp by a finger's reach and he could not bear to be in the dark much longer. But he had decided against wishing fruitlessly, for one night at least; his wish tonight was more…tangibly centered. He desired her. He despised her. He loved her. She was everything and nothing to him; his beginning and ending. He realized, somewhere between being buried in her tight walls and watching her childlike ecstasy in wishing on a shooting star, that he could no longer stand their present arrangement as it was. He wanted more. He was greedy. It was his nature.

Ruby dropped his hand as they walked closer to his marble-décored estate. She ran the remainder of the driveway, closing the gap between her lover and his front door with a few long-legged strides. She giggled as she ran and finally turned when she reached the door. She posed on the door frame, arching her back, raising her leg and bending it so it rested behind her against the wall. She licked her lips, her gaze raking over his form. A smirk graced those red, red lips. She looked, for all intents, quite the decadent treat. Sumptuous. He smiled, his teeth white in the moonlight. She watched his approaching form, entranced.

"You could take me. Right here. I won't scream…much."

"Anyone passing by may see, love," he cooed into her ear as he positioned himself between her legs. "Are you sure you'd want this, precious? Anyone with prying eyes could see us together."

She ground her pelvis against him, her short skirt riding higher on her hips.

"That _is _the point, Goldie."

His eyes darkened, he pushed her into the wall, a spark of pain shot through her as her head connected with the concrete.

"I told you to stop calling me _that._"

She bit her lip and searched his eyes with her cerulean orbs.

"What am I to call you then? 'Mr. Gold?' 'Darling?' 'Buttercup?'"

He thrust into her, his cock deep within her warmth. She moaned in supplication.

"Oh God!"

He grinned.

"That'll do."

She rolled her eyes but continued to move in tempo against his thrusts.

/

/

She slept soundly in his bed. He had been staring at her for hours. Days maybe; time lost all of its import when he was around her…every moment was precious, every ticking of the clock an eternity of joy. Rumpelstiltsken was entranced, as he always was by Red's immaculate form. He looked down at his own golden body, the filthy affect, the long near-green nails, and felt, for an instant, so far beneath his lover he nearly perished of embarrassment. Sensing his feelings in a way even _he _could not understand, Red awoke and smiled lazily at him.

"Come to bed, my love. I am so cold without you near."

He acquiesced to her request. For once, in his bed, naked bodies pressed close together, they didn't immediately begin their sensual interaction. Rumpelstiltsken merely wrapped his arms around Red Riding Hood, circling her waist and drawing her against his warm body. He pressed a kiss to the back of her head, inhaling her scent, lilacs and baking bread and orgasmic _bliss; _he promised himself…he made a _deal _with himself, that he would always remember her…always find a way back to her. She was what kept him tethered to life. True, his deals and tricks and _lessons _for the denizens of their fairy tale world provided him ample amusements during the time in which he could not see her, but she…_Red…Rebecca_…she was his very existence, integral to his being, to his very breath. If, for some unforeseen circumstance, they were ever parted, he would find his way back to her…find a way to forever link them body and soul. Had not the curse he had given the Queen been so present in his mind; had not the thought of a forever changed existence been lurking in the depths of his thoughts, he would have pushed Red to admit their arrangement to the world. Her granny would have died of embarrassment; he stifled a giggle. _That _would have been hilarious. But that was of no import. As Rumpelstiltsken drifted off into a dreamless sleep, he begged his nostrils to only inhale the sweet scent of Red Riding Hood's perfumed skin and hair; knowing his history and danger, his nostrils could not help but submit to his will.

/

/

Ruby awoke with Mr. Gold's arms encircling her. She smiled in the warmth of the morning light as it filtered in through the skylight window above his bed. She _loved _this bedroom, this skylight, this man…she balked at the thought. She _loved _him? Mr. Gold? Surely she couldn't. It was impossible. A brief glance at the solid arms that surrounded her made her smile and think on her affections for the man who owned her, body and soul.

_The diner was near foreclosure. The inn in shambles. Her grandmother was ill, couldn't pay her rent, and Ruby, fresh out of high school and woefully inexperienced, hadn't a clue of what to do. Their neighbors were of no use, their advise worthless and trite. Ruby had once held such high hopes for graduating, for leaving the boring Storybrooke and traveling to glamorous Boston. Those dreams were cut short. Her grandmother, swiftly losing all of her faculties to the dementia that threatened to overtake her mind and replace her personality, took to calling Ruby horrid names instead of caring for her and misplacing everything instead of keeping track of her monies as she once had. Ruby was in over her head. That was when Mr. Gold had come to her proverbial rescue, on a cold, rainy, clichéd night. _

_Her grandmother had gone to bed. Ruby needed some reprieve from her full day of work; waitressing, caring for the dilapidating inn, taking care of her grandmother. She needed a walk, needed some air. She had been walking in the woods, not caring the late hour, not caring for the dangers of the bike path she strolled down. A dog, a mongrel, a likely rabid beast, had come out of the weeds and lunged at her. She had shrieked, closing her eyes and preparing for the tearing bite. When it didn't come, she dared a peak. The dog, poor unfortunate creature that it was, lay in a pool of coagulating blood at her feet, very much dead. Mr. Gold was at her side, his ever-present cane tinged red with the animal's blood. She had stared at him, unable to vocalize her thanks. He had bowed slightly and left her standing, alone. Once her senses returned, she ran after him, grasped his elbow and finally caught his gaze. His eyes were a murky brown, neither beautiful nor clear, but befuddled with confusion. She opened her mouth to thank him. He dropped his cane and grabbed her, drawing her into a searing kiss. Without great effort he stole her previously guarded virginity, pressing her up against an oak tree along the bike path, pushing her too-short shorts off of her hips and onto the ground beneath them, thrusting up into her with nary a care for her comfort. It was intense to say the least. It was her Mr. Gold. Before he allowed her that first, intoxicating orgasm, he made her a promise…he would save her grandmother's investments, save their livelihood, if she would only agree to be his. With his cock already buried deep within her, with all of her senses begging, pleading for that pulsating release he held from her, she was unable to deny him. She agreed. He gripped her breasts in his warm hands, she emitted a soft cry against his mouth. He begged her indulgence in signing a contract at a later time as his hands were full. She came and laughed in one shuddering breath._


	5. Chapter 5: Somebody to Love

SOMEBODY TO LOVE

"Got no fear,

I got no rhythm.

I just keep losin' my beat.

I'm okay; I'm alright,

I ain't gonna face no defeat,

I just gotta get out of this prison cell,

Someday I'm gonna be free, Lord!

…

Can anybody find me somebody to love?"

(Queen, _Somebody to Love_)

/

/

Emma walked through Storybrooke slowly, meanderingly. She was in no rush; she had walked Henry to his bus as she so often did as of late. The people of Storybrooke went about their daily businesses, barely acknowledging her presence. She preferred that. Honestly. She had never truly had much of a to do made over her; now was no time to start. Wandering was the goal of her day; she'd had enough of the monstrous mayor, enough of fairy tale assurances at every pass by her overzealous, though well-meaning, child…it was just enough.

She had wandered too far, into a section of town she had never passed through. There were beautiful homes here, large spaces of manicured lawns between them. One in particular caught her eye; it was marble and gold and breathtaking. She took in its beauty, she couldn't help it. A woman's raised voice followed by the curt rumblings of an accented man from the hedgerows leading to the home she so admired broke Emma from her reprieve and she quickly retreated behind a large tree. The man's voice was easily recognizable; no one in the town she had met quite yet had such a Scottish lilt to his voice…_of course_ it was Mr. Gold. But who was he with? She listened in, too enticed to ignore the words which flew between the pawnbroker and his yet unnamed companion.

"I didn't mean for this to make you upset!"

The woman huffed.

"Well, you should have thought of that before suggesting something…something like _that_."

Mr. Gold sighed.

"It's not like I asked you to do something so horrible, poppet."

"You don't understand. You _never_ could."

"And why is that?"

"Because!"

"Oh, such a telling answer, Rubes."

Emma's face contorted in confusion. "Rubes?" Of course. _Ruby_. But why in the world would Mr. Gold be talking to the scantily clad waitress? Why would she be coming out of his walkway so very early? She could hear Ruby's sigh pass her lips.

"You don't understand because you've never been in my position. You've never had it rough."

He laughed, cruelly.

"I've never had it rough? My dear lady, you have no idea what you are speaking of."

"Enlighten me."

"I shouldn't have to. I want my answer, Ruby. I want my deal. Your assurance."

"I got my tattoo for _you_, Raoul…_your _first initial, your mark on me. Isn't that enough?"

Mr. Gold glared at her. He loathed her using his first name, excepting when she screamed it to the ceiling of his bedroom. She was one of…no, in sooth she was the _only _person in Storybrooke to use his first name. Perhaps she was the only one who actually even knew it.

"I need you to be mine."

"I already _am_ yours! You've been," she broke off with a sigh. Her breath hitched, Emma could hear the girl's torn loyalties in her shaken voice. "You were my first…you're my _only_. I don't want to change that. I don't want to change what we have now. Isn't what we have enough?"

"I want more. I want you. Legally bound to be mine forever."

"I can't. I'm sorry."

"Please."

Tears brimmed in Ruby's eyes; Emma could hear her choking them back as she spoke.

"Raoul, please…I don't want to choose. It would kill my grandma…she…she would never look at me the same way, would never speak to me again! And my friends…they despise you. The whole town does; everyone but me. Aren't my feelings for you enough? Please…please don't make me choose between having you and having the rest of my life."

"But you must choose, Ruby. For both of our sakes…we can't go on like this…the truth always comes to light, eventually they will find out what you've been doing behind closed doors. What _we've_ been doing behind them…in front of them…against them. Don't we owe it to ourselves to be the ones to make the choice of when and how the town discovers our attachment?"

Emma ventured a peek around the tree. What she saw frightened her…entranced her…consumed her. Mr. Gold held Ruby in a tight embrace, her face buried in his neck; one of his hands pet her long black and red hair, the other cupped the small of her back. His eyes were closed, he seemed to be solely focused on breathing in the woman's scent. They stayed thus for a few moments before Ruby lifted her head and stared at Mr. Gold. He took the opportunity to draw her into what looked to be a searing kiss. He dropped his cane with a loud clank to the pavement beneath. His hands cupped Ruby's breasts and she moaned just loudly enough to be heard in the street. Emma's stomach churned. She turned to leave, hoping not to be discovered. Her heeled boot snapped a twig under her foot. _Damn._ The pair before her looked up; Ruby backed away from her companion, wiping her nose with the back of her hand, eyes red, tear-filled, and looking anywhere but at Emma. Mr. Gold, calmly as ever, smiled faintly at Emma, picking up and then tapping his cane onto the pavement.

"Miss Swan. How nice of you to drop by."

/

/

_Red Riding Hood backed away from Rumpelstiltsken, tears threatening to break from her eyes. She was running away; when times were difficult, when she was scared, off she ran. He was getting sick of it. After all they had been through…all they had worked for together…she still saw him as something that could be run from. He growled and leapt for her, his body pinning hers to the dusty ground below. She grunted and tried to move away from his grasp._ _Rumpelstiltsken's pointed nails dug into her wrists, bringing pools of blood to the surface. Red was crying beneath him. He held back his desire to lick the tears from her cheeks. His voice raised above his normal tone, was nigh well to a scream, his mischievous lilt dropped. _

"_And just where do you think you're going, dearie?"_

"_Please. Just let me go. We can't continue like this."_

"_Says who?"_

_Her tears turned to mud in the dirt beneath her. Red's blue eyes couldn't meet Rumpelstiltsken's, her heart thumping in her chest. _

"_It would break my grandmother's heart."_

_He shrugged._

"_Too bad. We have a deal." _

"_The deal doesn't include what you asked of me."_

"_I think I would decide that, poppet."_

"_It would kill her if I agreed." _

"_I will kill her if you do not." _

"_You wouldn't."_

_He smiled, his eyes wretchedly cold._

"_Try me."_

"_I cannot marry you, Rumpelstiltsken. You must know that. I agreed to be yours, to be your plaything, to submit to your whims…but not to this."_

"_This is a whim."_

"_Which means you could just as easily change in your desires; this thing you ask of me…this marriage…it is not something to be taken lightly." _

_His large brown irises grazed over her dirty face. She had stopped crying. His Red. Always so strong, yet able to show frailty, at least under his skilled fingers. He wanted the whole of the Enchanted Forest to know she was his. He was sick to death of having to hide behind her guarded stance. He wanted to sing his possession of her from the mountaintops. He wanted to scream it to the heavens. She was his. His to throttle, his to kiss, his to love, should he so choose. Why would she not submit? _

_She shifted underneath him, her eyes finally meeting his. _

"_Rummy, please. Let me go."_

"_Never." _

"_I do not mean you will not have me…I just cannot give you this…not yet. Please. If you have any affections for me…please." _

_He sighed and stood, releasing her. To his surprise she didn't run. She stood beside him and wrapped her arms around his neck, burying her face in his leathered shoulders. She whispered in his ear, her voice a caress. _

"_Give me time. That is all I ask."_

"_You ask me for time…time to do what? Choose between your precious life…your grandmother, your friends, and myself?" _

_He laughed. There was none of his usual mirth contained within._

"_Rebecca, you are set on making me lose. I don't care for it."_

_She frowned. _

"_And why would you lose?"_

"_Given the choice between that life you loved and the monster with whom you share so little besides a bed, one can assume where your loyalties lay. Off with you now," he seethed, motioning for her to leave. "I have a meeting I need to attend to." _

"_With whom?"_

"_It is none of your concern."_

"_Humor me." _

_With a sigh he stared into her eyes, his resolve waning. _

"_That conniving little maid queen." _

_Red's skin paled._

"_Cinderella?"_

_He nodded. _

"_But of course. She requests a new deal. Sent by bluebird no less."_

"_You cannot go."_

"_And why, pray tell?"_

"_It is obviously a trap meant to ensnare you! Lord knows what they have planned for you!" _

_He chuckled._

"_Touching that you still care somewhat for my safety, poppet."_

_She reached out to him, ran her dirt-caked fingers along his jaw line. He closed his eyes and sucked in a long breath. As he exhaled, she peppered his golden face with light kisses. She could not lose him. If he walked so blindly and willingly into a trap laid out by that damned Snow White…._

"_If I agree to marry you, will you stay?"_

_He laughed._

"_Now the thought is not repulsive to you?"_

"_The thought of being bound to you forever was never repulsive, dear heart."_

"_Only the thought of everyone being aware of our arrangement."_

_She sighed._

"_I am a coward."_

"_No one could accuse you of that." _

"_I fear their reactions. Their words. I fear I am not strong enough to stand up to their looks." _

"_And yet you would agree now. Why?"_

"_If it is what will keep you safe I would do anything…you are walking into a trap, Rumpelstiltsken. Can't you see that?"_

_With a shrug he stepped away from her. _

"_You will marry me without another deal, love. Eventually. But now then, I'm not sure I wish to walk away from my swinging bachelor lifestyle," he motioned to the forest which surrounded them. "As you see it is so very diverting."_

"_Is there nothing that could tempt you to stay? My first born, perhaps?"_

_A peal of good-natured laughter fell from his lips. He looked at her, eyes bright and teeth gleaming in the spattered light. _

"_Again I mention; I am not in the habit in making deals wherein I receive something which I already possessed…or will possess by default, I suppose." _

_With a flick of his wrist and a tuft of glittering smoke he was gone. Red Riding Hood stood in the cloud for a few moments, breathing in his essence. She had a very bad feeling about the task at hand; from what she knew of the tactics of her war council brethren, her beloved was in a substantial amount of danger. _


	6. Chapter 6: Sacrifice

SACRIFICE

"Dreams do come true, if we only wish hard enough. You can have anything in life if you will sacrifice everything else for it."

(J.M. Barrie)

_Rumpelstiltsken lay in Red Riding Hood's bed; it was small, but comfortable, the perfect country home bed for a young girl. But his Red was most certainly not a young girl anymore. She was a woman, full grown and fully his. Of all of the places he had thought up for them to fulfill their union, this one was truly the most…tempting. He waited for her, knew she would return to her grandmother's home very soon. He wondered at what he would say when she entered the door; wondered what she would do. _

_The door opened, its hinges creaking. Rumpelstiltsken hardened, anticipating. A single candle was in her hand, set in a small metal holder. The light illuminated portions of her face, her eyes especially, which widened with shock when she noticed who was in her bed. She shut the door with great haste, taking care to ensure that the door closed as silently as possible. Her grandmother was wide awake and just a few rooms away; it would be devastating for her to find Rumpelstiltsken in her supposedly innocent granddaughter's bedroom. She set the candle down and folded her arms, glaring at the golden man smiling at her on her bed. _

"_What are you doing here?" _

_He chuckled, she shushed him. He rolled his eyes and stretched out on the bed._

"_I got bored. I wanted to see you."_

"_You could have found me elsewhere. You don't have any purpose in coming into my home."_

"_Don't I?"_

"_What do you want?"_

_He leered at her, running his tongue over his teeth._

"_You know what I want. I want you to follow through on our deal."_

"_Don't I always?"_

_He laughed and nodded his head._

"_Yes, yes, I suppose you do."_

"_But why here?" _

_He shrugged._

"_Seemed as good a place as any. Come on, Red, haven't you thought of me being here? Of me sidling into your little bedroom and sullying your virtue in your beddie-bye?" _

_With supine movements, he made his way over to her, wrapping his arms around her taut form from behind. She elicited a little moan when his right hand delved between her legs, working her into a frenzy. He pressed his fingers into her, finding no resistance. _

"_Come along now, precious, give into your desires. You'll find no judge in me." _

_She turned to face him, her eyes blazing with risen passions. They kissed, a melding of mouths and minds. He lifted her off of the ground with ease; though he was relatively small of stature, his lithe body was surprisingly strong. The magic coursing through him was, no doubt, part and parcel to his enhanced abilities. He carried her to her bed, her body shaking ever so slightly in anticipation. They had only been together a few times, their deal and that first consummation of it still fresh in her mind. Still unused to all of his eccentricities, she attempted, at every pass, to make mental notes…wanted to ensure that she was able to understand the creature…the man, to whom she would forevermore be bound. Rumpelstiltsken laid her down, waved his fingers. Her dress disappeared. She arched an eyebrow at him. He cocked a half-smile and lowered himself onto her. _

_To his great surprise, she flipped him over. Had he been on guard, she never would have been able to do so, but he had become accustomed to her somewhat passive approach to their intimacies. Tonight was, apparently, the start of something new for his little Red. She straddled him. He groaned, as quietly as he could, as she ground her body onto his lap; she kissed him, sucking his groan into her mouth. She drew back, her lips at his ear. _

"_Shhh, we wouldn't want anyone to interrupt us, would we?"_

_She freed his member, drew it into herself achingly slowly. He bucked against her slow movements, pushing his cock in her passage to the hilt. She scowled but the anger didn't reach her eyes. She was playing with him. _

"_Ah-ah-ah, Rummy. My bedroom, isn't it? I believe that would put me in control."_

_He rolled his tongue behind his teeth, took in a shaky breath, and allowed her to ride him. She did so, moving at a leisurely pace, drawing his throbbing cock into her with slow, deep thrusts, until he could take it no longer. He thrust into her, gripping harshly onto her white hips. She moaned, not in complaint, so he continued. As he rammed into her dripping slit, she threw her head back, could not contain his name bursting forth from her lips. He came in a pulsating fury of similar uncontrollable screams. For a few brief moments afterwards, they were silent, save for their quickened breaths. The door burst open with a glut of crashing woodwork; Red's grandmother burst in the room, a blanket of light draining in from the well-lit hallway. The color drained from her face when she saw the pair before her, still locked together in that most intimate of ways. She fainted dead away, her old body crumpling to the floor. Rumpelstiltsken suppressed a laugh as Red climbed off of his softening cock and ran over, still very much nude and dripping with their joined spending, to help her grandmother. _

"_Oh God," Red cried, looking back at Rumpelstiltsken, "What have I done?"_

_He stood, his clothing righted now and flesh tucked away in his breeches. _

"_She would have discovered sometime, poppet. It is no matter, she will have to learn to deal with this situation."_

_Tears streamed down Red's face._

"_She will hate me. She will send the huntsman after you, as she did the wolves after she learned of my attack."_

"_You told her?"_

"_Yes. Not of you saving me, of course."_

"_So you lied?"_

_She sighed. _

"_I did not lie. I simply did not tell the full story. I told her that I was nearly killed but for some hand of fate saving me. She did not ask further questions but sent the huntsman out to rid the forest of the wolf's brethren. I fear what she will try to do to you when she awakes." _

"_I could put a spell on her…she would not awake again."_

_Red slapped him. Well…he most certainly wasn't expecting that. She glared at him._

"_How dare you? I could never…the very thought!" _

_He rolled his eyes. _

"_So something else then. If you're so intent on keeping our relations a secret, we can't very well have your grammy-grams running around proclaiming it to the world now can we?"_

_She shook her head. No, no, she supposed that wouldn't do at all._

"_What can we do?"_

"_Erase her memory."_

"_The lot of it?"_

"_No. Just the past few bits…I promise, it won't hurt a bit." _

"_What is the catch?"_

"_So trusting, poppet! I would think that you would be happy to continue to do those oh-so-filthy things right under her nose without fear of repercussion or judgment." _

"_Tell me what will happen to her." _

"_She will forget what she has seen here."_

"_And?" _

_He rolled his fingers through the air before him. _

"_Well, there is a small chance that, should any other spell effecting her memories be cast the consequences could be dire."_

_Red's face paled._

"_How dire?" _

_He looked around, his bottom lip gripped between his teeth. _

"_Dry mouth, of course, stomach pains, weight gain, hair loss…but most likely she will lose her faculties…slowly lose her ability to remember anything. Eventually she will grow to hate you, will loathe your every action, even if those actions are pure." _

_Red stared into his large brown eyes, searching for a moment. She let out a shaky breath._

"_Do it." _

_Rumpelstiltsken smiled, broadly._

"_Gladly."_

/

/

A knock on Mary Margaret's door broke Emma from her day dreaming. She was happy for the distraction, she was oh-so sick of dwelling on what she had seen earlier. It was making her quite ill. She opened the door, her brow furrowing at the person she found in the hall.

"Ruby?"

The waitress hung her head, her long hair falling down over her face.

"Sorry to bother you I just…."

Ruby sighed.

"Can I talk to you?"

Emma nodded and stepped back, letting Ruby enter. She was sure that Mary Margaret wouldn't mind; at least it wasn't Mr. Gold. The pair sat at the teacher's kitchen table in an awkward silence. Emma broke it, the silence unbearable.

"If you're wondering if I'm going to tell anyone about what I saw…I won't. I have no reason to."

"Good…good," Ruby seemed visibly relieved, "But that's not exactly why I'm here."

"No?"

"Well…sort of, but, not really, I," she trailed off with a sigh. "I just need someone to talk to about this."

"About Gold?"

She nodded.

"He's my…boyfriend I guess? Lover? I don't know what to call him."

"And you want to talk to me about him because…?"

"You're the only one who knows about us…I can't talk to anyone about," she sighed again, her eyes threatening to tear, "I can't talk to anyone but Ra…Mr. Gold."

A slight concern bubbled in Emma's stomach.

"Is he hurting you?"

Ruby laughed.

"No more than usual. He wants…he wants me to marry him."

"And you refused?"

"Yes. It would kill my grandmother. She's already in enough trouble as it is."

"Trouble?"

"She's been sick…she had a heart attack last year, she's got dementia. And, apparently, I am the one who needs to bear the brunt of her hatred. She doesn't even seem to hate Gold as much as she does me…of course if she knew…."

"She would hate the pair of you even more."

With a nod, Ruby sat back in the chair.

"Yes. So you see my dilemma."

"Do you _want _to marry him?"

Ruby stood, her emotions threatening to overtake her. She had changed since the morning, had no doubt gone back to her home and had thrown on a surprisingly demure red tracksuit.

"If there were no repercussions, I would, I…I don't know what I would do."

"You must like him at least, to let him, well, you know."

Ruby smiled, a blush creeping up to her cheeks.

"Despite the way I dress and how I act…I…he's been the only one who has ever even kissed me, let alone anything else."

"Why do you dress that way?"

"He likes me to. He wants me to know that I could get any man I wish to…but choose to go only to him."

"That's a little odd."

"Gold is an odd man."

"And yet you have feelings for him."

"Yes."

"Do you love him?"

Ruby looked into Emma's eyes, her blue orbs sparkling with unshed tears.

"Love can't even begin to describe what I feel for him."


	7. Chapter 7: Staring into the Abyss

STARING INTO THE ABYSS

"At times one remains faithful to a cause only because its opponents do not cease to be insipid."

(Friedrich Nietzsche)

_Red Riding Hood stepped out of the shadows in the frigid caves wherein her lover was most decidedly trapped. He had lied to the Queen when he had told her it was just the pair of them; he knew Red was waiting in the wings, with a scrumptious loaf of bread wrapped in a red napkin and an equally scrumptious outfit tucked underneath a dark cloak. She had heard the whole of their conversation; knew from their thrown words of the curse coming so swiftly to take away the life that she knew. The Queen was gone, oblivious to the brunette hiding in the wings as she ran out of the dungeon. Rumpelstiltsken was not so obtuse as to not recognize her presence. _

"_Good evening, precious." _

_She smiled and stepped out of the shadows. _

"_Good evening. How did you know I was here?"_

_He wrapped his arms around the bars which kept him from pulling her close. _

"_I always know." _

_When she did not immediately fall into her usual pattern of groping him through the bars, Rumpelstiltsken clucked his tongue at Red. _

"_Someone wants something," he sing-songed. "Come into the light, love."_

_Red blushed and did as he asked. She handed the loaf of bread to him, which he set on the rickety table they allowed him; she leaned on the bars, staring at him as returned to her side. Her cool white hands passed through the jagged bars to caress his face. He groaned at the touch. _

"_I am terrified, Rumpelstiltsken," Red said, her voice cracking in the frigid air. "I had meant only to pay you a visit, I did not mean to overhear your private conversation." _

_He laughed, his warm breath hanging in the air, his brown eyes dancing. _

"_Do not apologize for that, dearie, you know my darkest secrets…my desires…you are swiftly becoming integral to my being, Rebecca." His mouth hovered at her ear, his self-control waning. "Ask me what you desire to ask me." _

"_What will happen to us should the Queen enact the curse?" _

_He chuckled, low and hollow in his chest. _

"_But you already heard that, poppet. We'll be taken to a place where there are no happy endings. A terrible, horrible reality where our identities will be lost."_

_Red rested her head against the bars, her eyes boring into Rumpelstiltsken's, her hands wrapped around his. _

"_I didn't mean for everyone, Rummy…I just meant for us. Are we going to forget everything?" Her eyes welled up with tears. "Are we going to forget one another?" _

_Despite the bars, Rumpelstiltsken was able to wrap his arms around Red Riding Hood and draw her somewhat close to his body. _

"_I could never forget you." _

_He held her for an hour, the bar separating them, his hunger forgotten. It wasn't enough. He demanded her proximity. She coaxed her body through the spiked bars, the points tearing at her flesh. Once she was through to the other side, she didn't care about the blood trickling down her arm nor the pain throbbing through her body. Rumpelstiltsken held her, for the first time since his entrapment, unhindered. It was worth every ounce of pain. They had made love. It wasn't sex. It wasn't fornicating. It wasn't their usual fucking. This was different. And it terrified him. It made his soul sing. _

_/_

_They slept. For hours they slept. Wrapped in each other's arms. It was glorious. The best night of his damned imprisonment. No one interrupted them. How that could be was a mystery, even to the ever-astute Rumpelstiltsken, but he was not one to look the proverbial gift horse in the mouth. He had spent the night with his lover, had at least that last bit of comfort before the blackness of the curse tarnished the air. The electricity sparkling in each breath he took made him aware of the futility of their actions. No matter how hard he grasped onto her, she would forget him. He stared down at her sleeping form and decided. He would not forget. He would not allow the memories they shared to forever pass into nothingness. Rumpelstiltsken pulled a small glass vial from a hidden pocket in the folds of his shirt; so obsessed were his captors to place him in his cell, they did not take care to search his clothing. There was only enough for one. He would bear the weight of knowing when everyone else was stricken tabula rasa. The potion wasn't foolproof by any means, the Queen's curse was far too strong for anything to be perfectly accurate; the memories would be fleeting, would slowly reveal themselves to him in dreams, in feelings, in seemingly worthless flashes. But he could at least take comfort that his actions would lead him back to Red, wherever the curse would take them. _

_He downed the concoction in one gulp and threw the vial into a pile in the corner of his cell. He shook Red awake, whispered to her to return to her home and spend the last few hours in this world with her grandmother. Red nodded and snuck out, silently assuring herself that she would return to his side as soon as her grandmother fell asleep that evening. She hoped rather than expected that she would be able to return before the curse stole their lives. A kiss pressed to a golden temple and she was gone. _

_/_

_/_

Emma tugged her red leather jacket on as she walked out of Mary Margaret's apartment. Today was most certainly _different_, that much was certain. She had heard, in great detail, all the particulars of Ruby's relationship with Mr. Gold. Emma shuddered. _All _the particulars. She really did not need to know every facet of their sexual relationship. She really didn't. But some intrinsic part of her knew the pair was meant to be together, and she couldn't help but flare up at the thought with the slightest bit of jealousy. Her relationships were scattered and unfulfilling. She may not agree with Ruby that Mr. Gold's treatment of her was particularly health, or that their relationship was perfect, but Emma wished that she was able to have half of the passion that she witnessed the pair of them muster standing in his driveway earlier that morning. She walked down the sidewalk, through sparse crowds. A cleared throat behind her broke her from her reprieve.

"Miss Swann," Mr. Gold's voice echoed from behind her. "A word, if you will?"

/

/

Ruby was packing. Her grandmother rolled her eyes and set about yelling again in the hallway about how the brunette would never make anything of her life, how she was a failure and a blight on the memory of her mother, and how much sacrifice the old woman had made for her ungrateful granddaughter. Tuning out the raging geriatric in the hallway, Ruby glanced around her bedroom. Her former bedroom. This wasn't home anymore. It couldn't be. She had to leave. She needed to get away, from her grandmother, from Gold, from everything. She just needed to think. And when Ruby needed to think, she went straight to her favorite place: deep in the forests on the outskirts of town. She stormed out of the inn, the door slamming behind her. Her grandmother hung out of the door, her eyes blazing.

"If you don't turn around right now, don't you dare come back, Ruby!"

Ruby turned on her high heels and stared at her grandmother, barely holding tears back.

"I won't."


	8. Chapter 8: Boldly Going

BOLDLY GOING

"Murder is born of love, and love attains the greatest intensity in murder."

(Octave Mirabeau)

/

_Red searched the woods; tracked, more like. In the time since her unfortunate near-death experience, she had become more assured, more brave, more cunning. It was Rumpelstiltsken's doing. He made her strong, made her powerful, made her happy. And so she ventured out into the woods in search of wolves to hunt. Her grandmother's attempts to rid the Enchanted Forest of wolves had failed. Initially thought effective, the ritualistic homicide of the wolves at her grandmother's request had only served to fuel more anger. And more rutting. The beasts had multiplied, in their own ranks and in other, less willing participants. Their half-breed bastard children were to be killed on sight, were to never be cut from their mother with breath in their bodies. But life, even bastard Halfling life, had a way of surviving. So the wolves and their breed of varying descent multiplied. Red took it upon herself to thin their numbers, though she could not outright wipe out their species as a whole, too numerous were they. She was driven by guilt at every victim, every family torn apart by the loss of a beloved daughter; it was, after all, her attack and her grandmother's retribution which fueled this war. So she killed as she could, when she could. Once she had become accustomed to the task, she had to admit it wickedly pleasurable. Besides, she needed something to fill her time besides the frequent and differently wicked escapades she had with her golden lover. _

_She slaughtered them. Tore the skins from their dying bodies. At first she thought it cruel, thought the act horrifying when Rumpelstiltsken had suggested it. It was his preferred method, after all, and he was skilled in wolf-hunting, a skill she discovered peppered amongst his other more alluring hobbies. Red had initially opted for a more humane approach; had, until a few weeks into her pastime, simply snapped the necks of the beasts while they slept, trapped them in metal devices and severed their femoral arteries so they bled to death quickly and with minimal pain, or shot them through their red hearts outright with a bow and arrow as she sat perched in the trees. She had felt torture too cruel a punishment, even for a monster. But then she had stumbled upon a wolf and his prey, his victim. The girl, no more than twelve, had been torn in two clean halves by the ravenous beast, her bones scattered on the ground, one being gnawed on by the hungry wolf. This had likely not been the entirety of her torture, as Rumpelstiltsken had cautioned her: wolves in the Enchanted Forest took their bodily pleasures from their victims just prior to their demise, especially the virginal maidens who were unlucky enough to stumble into harm's way. Their pain fueled the animal's appetites in more ways than one. _

_Something in Red had snapped at the thought of the girl's final moments. She thought of an innocent voice calling for her mother. She thought of the terror she had In her heart when her now-lover had paused time, allowing her to see the face of her attacker frozen in the air. It wasn't the same beast, of course, that creature was now crystalline and hung in her bedroom window. But the rows of pointed teeth, the ravenous intent, the bloodlust, they were all the same. This girl could have been her. Her hands had steadied, her black and gold khopesh jut out, striking the wolf in the back. It howled and turned to face her, its face somewhere between an animal's and a man's. She knew the tricks their magic could play on an unsuspecting maiden. And she was by no means fooled. Her curved blade swung out again after she narrowly dodged the beast's clamping jaws. The blade sliced across his neck, nearly severing his right carotid artery in twain. He fell to the dust beneath them in a heap of gasps and blood. Red stood above him, her eyes blazing. He would live, though not for a greater expanse of time than a few minutes. She knew the blasted creature would not arise again. Her darling Rumpelstiltsken had ensured she was well-versed in the lethal striking areas and she was assured she had hit perhaps the most lethal of them all, if the pools of blood surrounding the wolf were any indication. She stifled a laugh at her remembrance of her lover's rather unorthodox teaching methods, and moved to nearly straddle the beast, her white legs bent, her voluptuous form sitting primly on his chest as the beast took final, ragged breaths. His eyes were glazing over, but he retained consciousness as he bled to death. She smiled, her lips ruby red, her voice a cold melody._

"_You should have known better than to torture and kill in my woods, dear. Allow me to use your last moments to remind you of that." _

_A smaller knife was drawn from beneath her red riding cloak. There was no sound from the wolf but a faint, agonizing moan, his lungs filling up with blood, rendering him unable to voice much else. Red cut through his flesh, cut nearly to the bone, and then took to ripping off the fur which covered the monster's body. As he finally succumbed to the fatal blow and the tortuous act of being skinned alive, the last vestiges of Red's innocence died with him. Where Rumpelstiltsken had begun her descent into becoming this creature who now hovered above a skinned corpse, holding its dripping furs clutched in a too-white hand, Red had now allowed herself to finish. Rumpelstiltsken was not to blame for her cruelty. He had saved her from the fate of the girls for whom she now patron saint; she was their salvation…he was hers. Rumpelstiltsken had saved her from dying, forgotten in a cold forest. He had, knowingly or unknowingly, created a savior; all Red had to do was lose herself completely to his guidance, an act in which she was all too happy to oblige. _

_/_

_/_

Ruby wandered through the woods, lost and grateful for the diversion. She would inevitably wind up at Mr. Gold's home, of that fact she was very much aware. She couldn't deny her attraction to him, her desire to be his. But her worries had stood in their way almost as much as his pride had. It wasn't that he was not proud to have a beauty half his age willing and wanton in his bed every night, oh no, it was something of which he would not regale his lover. In her heart, Ruby knew there was some dire need for secrecy which, up until very recently, Mr. Gold had always made sure their _dealings _were completed. Now he was nearly begging her to reveal their relationship to the whole of the town. But _why_? Why now? What was so very different now that fuelled this change in her otherwise very stubborn lover? She sighed. She had quite a lot of thinking to do. She hoped rather than expected that Mr. Gold would not be concerned that she had not been heard from the whole of the day.

Unbeknownst to Ruby, a pair of cruel eyes watched her as she traveled through the forest. Had she known who was staring at her, malice in their eyes, she would not have felt so at ease.

/

/

Mr. Gold closed up his shop; he had not heard from Ruby the whole of the day. It was disconcerting to say the least. She usually had called him or stopped into his shop at some point during the days. She was glaringly absent. He was concerned and debated enlisting the help of the town's newest deputy; at the thought of Emma's name, he recalled their conversation earlier that morning, shortly after he had seen Ruby for the last time.

"_Miss Swann," Mr. Gold's voice echoed from behind Emma. "A word, if you will?" _

_Emma turned with an internal sigh. _

"_Mr. Gold. How can I help you?" _

_He motioned for her to follow him._

"_I need to open my shop and I need a word. Would you indulge me?" _

_Against her better judgment, Emma followed the lithe man as he walked down the sidewalk. They walked in silence until they arrived at his pawn shop. He unlocked the door and opened it for her, his arm extending to the side to allow her to pass. _

"_Please. Come in, Miss Swann." _

_She did so, looking around the shop as Mr. Gold set to turning on the lights and opening his store. Emma took the few moments to glance at the treasures and trinkets that had found a home in the pawn shop. A crystal mobile caught her eye, the tiny unicorns dangling entrancing her for some reason she couldn't place. He smiled behind her. He remembered something. Remembered there was some connection between Emma and that mobile. But he couldn't dwell on frivolity now. Not with so much at stake._

"_I fear I must beg your discretion, Miss Swann." _

_She raised an eyebrow._

"_About what I saw earlier?"_

_He nodded, half-laughed._

"_Yes. Yes, that would be the topic." _

"_Of course it is," she said, her voice tight. _

"_I ask only for you to keep silent, Miss Swann. Nothing more." _

_She sighed._

"_Fine. I have no one to discuss it with anyway; no one who would want to hear it, at any rate." _

_Mr. Gold rolled his eyes._

"_Is the image really so disgusting to you?" _

"_I am so not having this conversation with you." _

_She moved to leave the shop; he grabbed her arm with surprising force. It was clear he did not want her to leave without an assurance of silence. _

"_Miss Swann. Your word? You may consider it my payment for allowing Ashley to keep her baby." _

_Emma smiled. _

"_Done. Good day, Mr. Gold, I have to drop Henry off to catch his bus." _

_She walked out, the grin still present on her face._

For some reason this Miss Swann intrigued him. He decided he wanted intently to keep on her good side. She would prove a far more valuable asset than the mayor; for some reason he instinctively knew that to be true. His mind flitted to more concerning topics: where in the hell was Ruby? The sky was darkening. Not that he was truly worried for her safety; violent acts rarely, if ever, occurred in Storybrooke, but they were so close to obtaining their happy ending, he did not wish to tempt fate to take it away at the last moment. He decided to go out in search of her, despite his difficulties in getting around the more harrowing terrains thanks to an old injury to his leg he couldn't quite recall. He paused at that. The answer sat on the tip of his mind…begged to be let out. He sighed. He couldn't think of that now. He had to find Ruby. He closed the pawn shop and headed towards the diner; if he did not find his lover there, he would have to call on her at home. Perhaps attempt to collect some payment from her grandmother as a ruse to see her. Should she not be there, he thought with growing concern and quickening steps, he would have to head to the woods; he knew Ruby would head there if she was in a distraught state of mind.


	9. Chapter 9: Giving Credence

GIVING CREDENCE

"The evil that men do lives after them,

The good is oft interréd with their bones."

(_Julius Caesar_, _Act 3, Scene 2, _William Shakespeare)

/

Ruby had stumbled. It was an easy thing to do on such rocky, uneven terrain. There were two malicious eyes that watched her stumble, watched her fall into an unmoving heap on the forest's floor when her lost footing had caused her to trip and strike her head on a tree stump. Red lips quirked into a broad smile. Ooh Regina was glad she chose to take a hike today; she hated Ruby just as much as she had hated her Enchanted Forest alter ego. She daren't go over to check on the girl; she wouldn't help her by any means, and the risk of leaving some shred evidence of her proximity to the scene was too high. She hoped against hope the wretched little slut was dead. Regina walked back in the direction from whence she had come. The sun had nearly set; it was time to go home and tend to her son.

As Regina walked out of the woods to more traveled ground, a figure quickly began to close in on her from the nearby parking area. A sleek black Bentley with gold hubcaps was parked next to her vehicle. From the car and the stunted gait of the encroaching figure, she knew whom to expect. But why? She smiled tersely as Mr. Gold ran up to her.

"Mr. Gold. What a pleasant surprise. I don't normally see you in this part of town."

His eyes were ablaze, terrified, his normally managed hair wild and uncombed, his face pale.

"Ruby. Have you seen her?"

"The waitress? Of course I've seen her. If this is about those skimpy outfits she parades around in, I'm sorry to say that I can't do anything about them. I may be mayor, but there are limits to even my power. If it is so bothersome, I suggest a cold shower. Good day, Mr. Gold."

Mr. Gold's slap was quick and sure; it landed on Regina's face with a resounding crack, halting her in her tracks.

"You shut your goddamned mouth."

Taken aback by his action and words, Regina paused, unable to speak. Mr. Gold frantically looked toward the woods.

"Did you see her on your hike? She's missing."

Realization dawned on Regina. She wrinkled her face in disgust; had this been a hidden relationship in both worlds? Ugh. _Disgusting_.

"Oh dear god. You and the little tramp? Oh, _Gold_, that is low, even for you. You know she's got her claws in every man in town, don't you? And I'm sure they've got more than that in her. At least it appears as such. Don't tell me you think she's capable of staying tied down to a cripple double her age? Or are you paying her to do just that?"

She laughed when he did not respond.

"Gold, I hadn't taken you for a fool. How wrong of me."

She stalked toward her car, not caring in the least to discuss the situation further.

"Goodnight, Mr. Gold. I would be of more service, but I fear I've developed a rather nasty headache. One that may just threaten your livelihood if you aren't careful."

He glared at her.

"Is that a threat?"

Her tinny laugh echoed in the pine trees.

"Certainly not! Don't be silly. A threat gives some credence to the idea that I may not follow through on my musing. I promise you, if you don't end whatever sick game you're playing with your little waitress whore, I will end you."

Mr. Gold stared after her as she entered and drove off in her car. He hated Regina, but that was of no import now. He had to find Ruby; he suspected Regina may have seen or heard something, so he did his best to retrace her steps. What he found at the bottom of a steep decline of earth terrified him.

"_Ruby!_"

/

/

_The Queen had found Red Riding Hood poised above one of the monarch's most valued minions. He was a wolf, as many in her employ were, but could choose his form as he (or she) saw fit, a skill which eluded many of his baser brethren. Red Riding Hood held her curved blade above his heart, her planned blow swift and sure. The Queen, vile enchantress that she was, had bound her from moving, had paralyzed her mid-strike. The wolf beneath her realized this and slinked away from Red; he stalked to the Queen and circled her legs before standing at her side. The Queen smiled. Red felt her insides crumble. This would be the second time she saw her mortality staring her in the face; she doubted that her lover would save her this time. _

"_Little Red Riding Hood," the Queen said, her voice cold and free of melody. "Haven't you done enough harm to this race? Will you not stop until they all are destroyed?"_

_Red tried to speak, but found she could do naught but move her eyes to look up at the smirking sorceress. _

"_That was rhetorical dear," the Queen cooed, "You needn't worry about speaking, ever again, actually. My only real question is how would you like to die?"_

_Red's eyes widened and tears burst from them, but silent she remained. The Queen clicked her tongue whilst stroking her red nails across the wolf's back. _

"_It's not a question of if, Red darling, but how. Drowning? Flailing? Bludgeoning? Hm. No, no they all seem so crass, so primitive, so…painless. No, my dear Red, what I have in store for you is much more horrifying than you could possibly imagine. I hope you enjoy it. I know I will." _

_Red focused on what she thought to be her last happy memory. When she heard his voice, she did not believe he was truly there; she blessed her incredible imagination with the phenomenon. When her body burned with the tingling sensations that pulsed through her whenever he was around, she opened her large eyes; she sincerely hoped he was not a figment of her wild imagination. She couldn't bear it. _

"_I would not do that if I were you, dearie," Rumpelstiltsken said, expertly disguising the terror in his heart. _

_The Queen raised an eyebrow. _

"_And why, pray tell, is that? She is of no consequence to anyone…she is a nobody…a nuisance."_

"_She sits on the war tribunal."_

"_And?"_

"_Thus she has connections. Friends. Friends who are already your enemies and mine; they would rally at the chance to justify a full-out war with you, one that I can't aide you in fighting. And no one wants a battle, do they, dearie? So many losses."_

"_Why in the world would you care if you plan on staying out of the battle?" _

"_Oh I don't. I stand to benefit no matter who wins the battle you so obviously intend on beginning, should you strike the girl down."_

"_What do you propose I do instead? Feed her to my wolf? Make it seem an accident during a hunt?" _

_Rumpelstiltsken smiled._

"_Give her to me."_

"_What?" _

"_Give her to me. I'll ensure she arrives back at home broken, but alive." _

"_And what do you want in return? What is your price?" _

_Rumpelstiltsken laughed. _

"_This one is on the house."_

"_What?" _

"_Call it an act of good faith." _

_The Queen narrowed her eyes at the golden imp._

"_No. You want her for some reason. Tell me why or you can't have her."_

_He rolled his eyes._

"_That wouldn't serve my purpose. Tell you what, how about a fair trade, hm? One destruction for another?"_

"_I don't follow." _

"_I have in my possession a curse. The curse to end all curses, actually. Give me the girl and the curse is yours." _

"_What has she done which makes you desire her so?" _

"_Would you not go to all lengths to be able to enact vengeance on Snow White with your own hand?"_

_She nodded. _

"_My situation with this one is much the same. I do not wish to discuss it further. The curse is all I offer. It brings power the likes of which you have never seen; it will destroy your enemies with more extent than anything you could possibly imagine." _

_The Queen's eyes glistened in greedy lust. _

"_What does it do?"_

_Rumpelstiltsken shrugged._

"_I've no idea!" _

"_Then what good is it? What good are you?"_

_He smiled._

"_What have you to lose by accepting? Do you truly think you could feel the same way I do about this girl? Your heart is full to the brim with hatred for Snowy." _

_The Queen nodded._

"_Fine. Deal." _

"_Excellent." _

_Rumpelstiltsken handed over a scroll of elegantly wrapped paper to the Queen before hoisting Red over his shoulder. He hoped he had not damned them all to an inescapable eternity. But he would do anything to save Red. Anything. _

"_Pleasure doing business with you!" _

_The lovers were gone in a puff of glittered smoke before the Queen could react. She turned her attention to the wolf, who had shifted into his human form. He wore the uniform of her guards normally, but had stashed his clothing at another location. The Queen used his nudity to her great advantage. She had a few hours to kill before her meeting with her dear friend Maleficent; she had a trade to make…at least now she had something worth trading for the sleeping spell. And Maleficent would willingly take a curse of unknown result from her dearest friend. Fool. _

_/_

_/_

Mr. Gold carried Ruby into the hospital, his eyes wild, his breath heaving. She had faded in and out of consciousness on their drive over; he knew she needed medical attention as soon as possible. He looked frantically around the room.

"Help! Now!"

Being that he owned what amounted to the entirety of their town, the nurses were quick to assist him. They led him to a room where Ruby was hooked up to any number of machines reading her vitals. Dr. Whale entered the room in a flurry.

"What happened?"

"I found her in the woods…I think she struck her head."

Dr. Whale nodded.

"Let me see what I can do for her, Mr. Gold, if you'll step out."

Mr. Gold's temper raged.

"I'm staying with her until she wakes up. Do your job."

/


	10. Chapter 10: Another Day

ANOTHER DAY

"There is no future, there is no past. I live this moment as my last."

(Rent, _Another Day_, Jonathan Larson)

The ride from the forest to the hospital had taken a painstakingly long time; Ruby hadn't fully roused for the entirety of the journey. A few fluttering moans from his passenger's seat were all that kept Gold tethered to reality during the relatively short drive. He was unused to having her with him without the beautiful melody of her voice caressing his ear. He loathed this. He feared this…this horrifying situation out of which he could not deal or buy his escape. And now he sat, _useless, _in an uncomfortable hospital chair, waiting for word on his Ruby.

He had paced the linoleum until his leg burned and throbbed its rage at its overuse; he had overextended his abilities in carrying Ruby, light as she was, through the uneven forest. Heavens above, what would he do if he lost her? He shook his head. No, no he couldn't think of that. He wouldn't. A thought flared in his mind; in all of his years in Storybrooke, he could not recall anyone passing. Ever. He frowned, trying to remember _someone _whose life had expired here. He found the list lacking completely. Odd. Quite odd. He groaned as his leg pulsed and another surge of pain caused him to arch forward, his breath hitching. Damn this leg. Damn his imperfections. He sighed.

He was reliant on Ruby. It was a vice. An imperfection. Wasn't it? The realization of just how much the girl's removal from his life would impact him was palpable. While his profession and dealings made his life comfortable, sustainable, it was Ruby who made existence truly worthwhile, truly pleasurable. He loved her. He needed her. He deserved her. For some reason, Gold felt as if his very soul _burned _for her, ached with the need to protect the woman, even unto his own demise. He couldn't live without her. He wouldn't.

/

It had been hours. Dozens of crumpled coffee cups littered the floor surrounding the waste basket in Ruby's otherwise unoccupied hospital room. Mr. Gold hadn't slept, hadn't eaten, had only allowed himself the coffee as a means to stay awake during the long testing regimen Ruby was undergoing. Her grandmother, he learned from the attending nurse, had declined to come to girl's aid. The doe-eyed nurse had relayed the woman's feelings to him with a sense of pity; she had an incredibly long plait of braided blonde hair piled up in a bun at the back of her head. Her cheerful little gold nametag, bedecked with flowers and miniature animals, relayed her name was Barbie. He sighed internally. Of course. She talked to Mr. Gold for a few moments, her empathy and sensibilities endearing herself to the bristly man and with more believable a sense of actual caring than he was used to receiving from anyone other than Ruby.

"Is there anything else I can get you Mr. Gold? You seem very tense."

"Of course I'm tense. How long until you bring Ruby back?"

She smiled slightly, her eyes wide and kind.

"She's just having a few more tests, I think, then she'll be brought back to you."

He didn't respond. The silence that settled in the room was uncomfortable, but Barbie finally broke it.

"It's good of you to wait for her like this. We see a lot of husbands and boyfriends leave to get food or fresh air. It speaks a lot of how much you care for her that you've waited like this."

He frowned.

"My relationship or lack thereof with Miss Ruby is none of your concern. If you've nothing to relay to me other than your conjectures on myself, I would ask you to leave."

With a little sigh, Barbie left, leaving Gold once again alone in his thoughts.

What would he do if Ruby never awoke? If she was stuck in stasis forever? Why did that seem such a large possibility? He was terrified she would never awaken to see how little she had without him. It would serve her right for making him feel something he couldn't recall ever feeling before her, for not bending to his wants without a second's pause, for running away, for _leaving _him, even if she planned on returning, as he expected she did. She was just as addicted to his touch as he was to hers. He was sure of that. Wasn't he? Yes. Yes he was. Undoubtedly. The lurking fear of losing her for good made his coffee-filled stomach churn. He recoiled in terror at the thought of a world without her in it. He ran his hands over his face and breathed out with a great heaviness on his chest. This questioning himself was getting him nowhere.

Thankfully the rumbling sound of wheels echoed in his mind. He rushed to her side as Ruby was finally, _finally _wheeled back into the room. She was still unconscious. His heightened mood fell slightly. He clung to her hand as the nurses who had wheeled her in left them to their privacy, one stating the doctor would join them shortly. He stroked her cheek, staring into her blank sleeping face.

"Ruby. Please. Please wake up. I can't bear it."

A thought entered his mind, laughable under normal circumstances, but for some reason it seemed totally viable. Without further pause, he leaned down and kissed her gently on her pale lips. He waited, hoping, anticipating.

_Nothing_.

He nearly scoffed at his own impetuous foolishness. A kiss. Pah. As if a kiss ever woke anyone up outside of fairy tales. He knew that. His head was firmly on his shoulders, as it always had been…he was certainly one of, if not the most grounded individuals in all of Storybrooke. Why did the kiss feel so trustworthy and believable an action? Dr. Whale broke him from his pondering as he walked into the room, chart and measurements in his hands. He smiled, faintly, at Mr. Gold.

"She's stable."

Mr. Gold sighed, relieved.

"And when will she wake?"

"I've no idea. Could be days, could be hours. She's been jostled. Do you know how long she was out before you found her?"

"No."

"Hm. No matter, really. Hopefully she will wake soon."

The doctor looked over the pawnbroker with apprehension.

"Mr. Gold, I assure you, Ruby is in excellent hands. She'll be well cared for until she wakes up."

"Only until?"

"I can't very well send a woman in an unconscious state out on the street, but she has no insurance and no job if her grandmother is so keen on washing her hands of her. No insurance and no income means my hospital will be footing the bill that she will never pay. That is not the kind of practice I run, Mr. Gold. As a man of business, I'm sure you understand we wish to keep our losses to a minimum."

"I will pay her medical bills. Keep her here as long as she needs to be here."

"Mr. Gold that is quite unheard of."

Gold's eyes slivered.

"I didn't ask for, nor do I wish to hear your thoughts on what I should and should not do with my money. As it sounds, _doctor_, it would do you well to recall your place and to whom you are indebted for your current status."

Dr. Whale paled and cleared his throat.

"Yes. Of course. Ah-ah-I have good news. All of Ruby's vitals are stable; brain function is normal and there does not appear to be any swelling aside from the scarce bit superficially on her skin at the contusion site. I placed a few sutures on her brow to close the wound. It's all down to patience now and keeping her stable until she decides to wake up."

Mr. Gold nodded.

"That will be all."

Dr. Whale bristled. He didn't spend fourteen years in college and training to be treated like a maître d'. Well, a few years of schooling and reading and…well, he had practiced medicine _somewhere, _at least, and had helped a lot of people. He was called "doctor." That was as good as a real degree. Sure. Of course. And the only one who knew of the ruse was Mr. Gold. Even so, his position did demand some modicum of respect, even from the man who owned the town.

"Now see here, Mr. Gold…."

Gold's eyes blazed. He glared at the doctor, glared _into _the doctor.

"I believe I said good day, Dr. Whale. Haven't you any surgeries to perform? Routine caesarian section, perhaps? Shame how the simplest of surgeries can turn out if you're distracted or _unused_ to taking complications into account, isn't it? I wouldn't want to have to be the cause of another one of your mishaps any more than I'd like to be forced to be your assistant in salvaging your career should another unpleasantry occur."

Dr. Whale stood, frozen for a moment, before nodding curtly and exiting the room. A tired chuckle cut through the room. Mr. Gold turned to see Ruby, sparkling eyes and faint smile, laughing and staring at him. He went to her, his hands shaking, his fingers running along her damp brow.

"You're intimidating even when you've got little to bargain with."

He laughed, raising her hands to his lips and kissing them.

"When did you wake?"

Ruby closed her eyes, savoring the contact for a moment before speaking, her blue eyes flashing open again.

"About when Whale was pissing his pants. Metaphorically speaking, of course. What ever do you have on him?"

"Quite a bit."

"No doubt to have him scurry out of here like that." She stretched out. "Mm. So what the hell happened, Goldie? Last I remember I was walking through the woods, having a grand old time, next I know I'm waking up with my boyfriend scaring the shit out of the town doctor. So what gives?"

Gold raised an eyebrow.

"Boyfriend?"

She shrugged and settled back down against the flat pillows.

"What would you have me call you instead? Booty call? Fuck buddy? The guy I'm banging that I happen to be totally in love with?"

She sighed.

"Raoul, I'm tired. Tired of hiding, tired of worrying. Tired of feeling embarrassed for being with the only person I've ever met who could keep up with me. Look, you know you've got me, whatever label you want or don't want to put on it. But I'm through sneaking around like I'm doing something wrong. I feel like I've been hiding this for longer than I can recall."

"I worry your reasoning for choosing to come forward with our…situation is because you've now nothing to lose. Your only family disowned you, you are homeless, jobless, and realize you are now reliant on my assistance to pay even your basest necessities."

She glared at him, defiant.

"Are you so set on destroying your own happiness when it presents itself to you? I'm not willing to take a conciliation prize, nor do I think so little of you that I would only agree to be fully yours for something so pedestrian as a place to sleep. If that's what you think of me, Mr. Gold, you don't deserve happiness. But love isn't a prize to be won, isn't something given just to those deserving of it. I love you, fully, completely, and I don't want to hide that. But if you think so little of me, perhaps I'd rather starve on the street."

He sighed and began to stand. Ruby's hand shot out, gripping his knee. A jolt of pain shot through him, but he did not show his pain.

"Please," she said, her eye filling with tears, "Don't leave."

His memory sparked, his vision faltered. Gold fell back onto the bed, his past memories surging into his mind and body convulsing. Ruby screamed for help.

/

/

_Red Riding Hood stood in shadows, watching her lover pace in the midst of a thatch of trees. Cinderella was waiting for him, her rose garden just beyond her line of sight. Rumpelstiltsken was before the firing squad; he knew it. Red knew it. And still, he would not hear reason, would not cease in his insistence to strike a new deal. She sighed. His ears perked. He turned, irises wide, murky, and searching. He giggled silently when he saw her red cloak. How typical.  
><em>

"_What are you doing here, poppet?" _

"_I couldn't let you leave without begging you to stay again. Please. You'll be lost to me if you do this." _

"_And you wish to save me? My hero. Go home, Rebecca. Your input is not needed or desired here." _

_She held back her anger, stepped forward, and kissed him softly on his cheek. _

"_Just remember, wherever you go, whatever happens, I love you. I know it doesn't mean much in the grand scheme of things, but it's all I have to give." _

_Seeing the battle was not to be won, Red left without waiting for a response. Rumpelstiltsken watched after her; if only she knew what her affection meant to him. But he couldn't…he wouldn't give up a deal. It was his nature. Red may have been his heart, but his deals comprised the rest of him. _

_/_

_/  
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Author's Note:

So, I rarely do this, but I want to leave a little note for my readers. Thank you for reading. It's wonderful to know that anyone out there gets some enjoyment from something I've written. I haven't updated in a while. I had two things going on: I got a wicked cold that really kicked my ass and I had eye surgery. The latter made it the most difficult to type anything up as I was blurry post-operatively for about a week's time. It's getting better and my vision is great. If you're a candidate for laser enhancement surgery, go for it, it's likely the best decision you'll make. :)

Oh, and a billion points to you if you get who the nurse is and just why she's named Barbara ("Barbie").


	11. Chapter 11: Sealed

SEALED

"I want to tear Him out of my heart, but He remains a mocking reality which I cannot get rid of."

(The Seventh Seal, Ingmar Bergman)

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_He had watched her from a distance for years. His gift of foresight allowed his vision of her future presence to wash over his mind, though he was not so omniscient as to fully know why she was so intriguing. She was important, of that he had no doubt. Her heart continuing to beat was integral to the continuation of his own blackened heart's thumping away in his chest. She would be beautiful. That was of little consequence. He knew many beautiful women, many idiotic beauties who had little to do with his daily life. But she would be different. He had to keep her safe. By any means necessary. And so he watched her, always from a distance, always preserving her safety of body and mind. Once she was older, once she was the beautiful, strong creature he foresaw, he could cease to trail her every movements. He just had to make sure that the little girl in a red cloak skipping down the lane made it to adulthood. At the rate she was going, that most certainly wouldn't happen. Not without his intervention. _

_Little Red Riding Hood walked and skipped through dangerous woods to her grandmother's on a near-weekly basis from a very young age. And, since her journeys began, she was followed, watched, and saved. Rumpelstiltsken stalked after her journeys and slaughtered the wolves, the dangers that sought to do the girl harm. She had been followed by many a wolf in her years of going to her grandmother's, though she was only to be aware of two such instances. One would occur just before she gave herself to the man who would make her heart sing, the other was a lie placed in her mind by that self-same individual. He saved her, not solely for his own gain, but because she was special. She was someone who deserved to live. Because she would save him, in time, though Rumpelstiltsken's gift did not show him exactly how he would be saved by the young girl in the red cloak._

_Red Riding Hood skipped through the forest, down the path from which she was not supposed to stray. She had special cakes and wine in her basket; it was her ninth birthday. Her grandmother always made a production about her birthdays and this one was sure to be no different. She hummed as she skipped, her eyes flitting to the colorful flowers that lined the path. As her feet strayed from the relative safety of the path, a throat was cleared behind her. She whipped her head around, her red hood falling back against her neck. A gold-skinned man stood before her, glaring, his arms crossed. She stared up at him, eyes wide, innocent, and sparkling. _

"_Good day, Sir." _

_He scowled._

"_Are you trying to get yourself killed, dearie?"_

_She blinked, confused at why a stranger would speak to her so angrily. _

"_I do not understand your meaning, Sir. I am going to my grandmother's to bring her wine and cakes. It is my birthday. I thought it would be nice to bring her flowers." _

_Rumpelstiltsken glanced around at the yellow flowers lining the path. _

"_Are these flowers not good enough for granny?" _

_Red Riding Hood scrunched up her face. _

"_No! Those are dandelions! They're weeds, not flowers." _

"_That truth's relative." _

"_Huh?"_

"_It's not 'huh,' dearie, it's 'pardon?'"_

_She had the sense to look embarrassed. _

"_The other flowers are prettier." _

"_Beauty is also relative." _

"_I don't know what you mean. I'm only nine," she said, glaring at Rumpelstiltsken._

_He sighed._

"_It means that just because someone doesn't think something is beautiful, doesn't mean it isn't. I, personally, think dandelions are prettier than any rose in the whole world." _

_She laughed, her eyes sparkling._

"_You're funny, Mister. I like you." _

"_You shouldn't."_

"_Why not?" _

"_Because you don't know me. Until you're old enough to care for yourself, you should always listen to what your mother tells you about the dangers of the forest."_

"_I'm old enough!" _

_He suppressed a laugh. Lord above the child was willful. He would have to make sure she was appraised of the dangers of the woods, in a matter of speaking, of course._

"_Do you know what wolves do to little girls who stray off the paths to get prettier flowers?" _

_Red Riding Hood shook her head. Rumpelstiltsken glared down at her. _

"_They eat them. And their grandmothers. Now that would not be a very happy birthday for you or for your granny, now would it?" _

_The girl thought for a moment, then shook her head. _

"_No."_

"_And what did your mother tell you today before you left your home?" _

_She sighed._

"_Don't stray from the path."_

"_Don't stray from the path," he reiterated. "You need to remember that." _

_A golden hand shot out to Red Riding Hood's temple, and she fell back into Rumpelstiltsken's arms. He lifted her with ease, carrying her through the forest to her grandmother's, his magicks speeding the journey. Luckily, her grandmother was already asleep when they arrived. A slight of hand after he laid the girl on a chair in her grandmother's room caused a golden dust to spread around the room. When the pair awoke, they would retain similar memories of the day: Red met a wolf on her journey after straying from the path, the wolf's consumption of her grandmother, his attempted deception of the little girl and her own consumption by the beast. A passing hunter would save them, a faceless, nameless good Samaritan. Rumpelstiltsken sighed and made his way back to the woods. He would find and slaughter a wolf, whose carcass would solidify the validity of the story when he left it as a souvenir on the old woman's porch. Little Red Riding Hood would forget all about their meeting. He did not dwell on the reason why he felt the need to twirl his hand and create a small vase of dandelions on the kitchen table before he left the pair of women to dream of his created memories. _

_/_

_/_

Mr. Gold awoke, the remembrance of his true past fresh in his mind. It faded as he regained consciousness, but the damage of the exposure was done. His remembrance had begun. As his mind cleared, so to speak, his brain screamed for Ruby. Where was she? What in the hell had happened to him? He sat up, his eyes flickering, searching. He sighed in relief when he saw her curled up on a large chair in his hospital room, fast asleep. Good. She was safe. Her cheeks were tear-stained though, smudged with melted eyeliner and mascara. He was touched. The girl had cried for him, _his _girl had cried for him. She stirred, undoubtedly feeling his staring eyes focused on her frame.

"Ruby," he said, his voice hoarse from disuse.

She was up in a moment, launching her body onto his and covering him with soft kisses.

"Gold…God, I thought I lost you."

"I am afraid I've shared the same fear of losing you within a relatively recent period of memory, dear."

"How did you make it waiting for me to come out of it for so long? It's only been an hour and I've been going crazy."

He raised an eyebrow.

"You, my dear, were asleep."

"I…well…it's been a very stressful hour. I cried and must have shut my eyes for a moment."

"I am touched you cried over me."

"Don't get used to it. Really. Please, don't make me cry again, Raoul, I couldn't bear to worry about you like that again."

"I'll see what I can do. Suppose I should be taking a few more vitamins."

She laughed, sniffling and wiping a few tears from her cheeks.

"I'll call a doctor and let them know you're awake. We'll get you out of here and home as soon as we can, hm? I'll take care of you."

He smiled, though his drained face held more fatigue than normal.

"Are you going to be my nurse, Ruby?"

She smirked.

"I'll even get a little white dress and a stethoscope so I can keep good track of you."

He laughed, his pale hand grasping hers.

"I've seen enough of nurse uniforms to last me quite a long time, poppet."

She sidled up to his bed, whispered in his ear, her voice husky.

"You haven't seen _my _outfit, Goldie-Bear."

He chuckled, unwilling to protest.

"Goldie-Bear?"

She shrugged.

"Seemed as good a nickname as any."

"Find the doctor and never call me that again. I want to get out of this damned place and back home."

Ruby nodded and left in search of Dr. Whale. She returned moments later, her eyes again full of tears. Gold sat up, concerned.

"Ruby, love, what's wrong?"

She choked back her tears and spoke in a shaky voice.

"It's Graham."

"The sheriff? What of him?"

"They just brought him in."

"Injured badly?"

She shook her head.

"He's dead."

"How? I just saw him yesterday in the woods after I spoke with Miss Swan, before _your _little escapade...a little disoriented, but he appeared full of life…healthy…."

She shrugged.

"We need to get out of here. I can't…I can't be around all of this death and disease. Please, please, take me home."

"Your grandmother won't have you, last I recall."

She rolled her eyes.

"I mean with you, Gold. Home is where the heart is and all that nonsense, right? My home, therefore, is with you. And you're not kicking me out. Ever. I'm through skirting around this. I'm moving in. You're going to buy me the biggest damn diamond I've ever seen and we're going to get our happily ever after…even if we die young."

Gold raised an eyebrow and Ruby laughed, despite her tears.

"Okay," she said with a shuddering breath, "if _I _die young."

/

/

Author's Note:

No one got it! The nurse, who I'm really not going to fan out unless I really feel compelled to do so, is supposed to be Rapunzel. The story of Rapunzel is loosely based on the story of Saint Barbara, whose father locked her away in a tower…and then murdered her...by beheading, if memory serves. Makes the Grimm's tale seem a lot more squishy, if you ask me. Yeesh.


	12. Chapter 12: Rejoined

REJOINED

"The mind is its own place, and in itself can make a heaven of hell, a hell of heaven."

(_Paradise Lost_, John Milton)

/

While the rest of the town mourned the loss of their beloved Sheriff, Ruby was trying on engagement rings, brutally turning aside one otherwise lovely piece after another. Of course she missed Graham and mourned his loss most acutely; Graham was an excellent man and an excellent friend, but his death served to fuel her desire to live her life to the fullest. And that was _exactly _what she planned to do, but not without a ring she adored. She sighed and glanced up at the jeweler, then to her Mr. Gold, who smiled at her in his terse way.

"None of these."

The jeweler threw his hands in the air, frustration overwhelming him.

"That's all I have, miss. Please, look over some of the pieces again, many are exquisite…perfect for a lovely young woman," he tried to coerce her, the faintest French accent in his voice creeping through his pleadings.

Mr. Gold frowned.

"She said those would not do. You _must _have something else. A good jeweler always holds _something _back. Find it."

A thought sparked in the jeweler's eye; he seemed to doubt himself, then excused his momentary absence. He shuffled off to the back room; he emerged moments later, a smile on his face and a small green velvet box in his hand. Ruby's eyes danced.

"What is it?"

"An antique. It has been in my family as long as I can remember. Can't quite recall how we came into its possession, but it is a ring unlike any other…never found the right finger for it, I guess, and I'd never think to mar the beauty by putting it through the strain of resizing it. If it fits you, Miss Ruby, it's providence."

Mr. Gold rolled his eyes.

"I see enough antiques in my own shop, thank you. Come, poppet, we'll order you something special elsewhere. Fly it in from Paris, if need be."

She pouted.

"No! Please, Goldie, it's just a quick look! I just want to _see _it. Where's the harm?"

He felt a definitive pang of something akin to recollection, but ignored it in favor of schooling his wayward intended.

"The harm is he is obviously overselling a piece of garbage he's never been able to rid himself of until now," he hissed at her through clenched teeth, his voice just loud enough to be heard by the embarrassed jeweler. "I know this schpeal. I use it daily!"

Ruby choked back a giggle and laid a soft hand on his shoulder.

"Please?"

He sighed. He realized when he was defeated.

"Fine. Open it up," he said to the jeweler.

The jeweler acquiesced. Mr. Gold had been wrong. Woefully wrong. Desperately wrong and his heart was ashamed of him. The jeweler had not been trying to con them. Quite the contrary. This ring was breathtaking; one of a kind…much like his Ruby. And for some unknown reason, it called to him...seemed to have a voice. Had he not such a grounded sensibility, he would think the ring enchanted. It was palladium, the jeweler droned to Ruby, who listened with rapt attention while her intended stared, entranced, at the trinket before them. Its radiance shone even in the shop's dim candle lighting. Neither of the patrons took the time to think it odd that a shop in modern Storybrooke was lit solely by candlelight. Perhaps they thought it romantic, perhaps they were instinctively attuned to that particular brand of lighting, or perhaps, more likely, they were so entranced by the beauty of the ring they forgot themselves. It _was _beautiful. And valuable. There were multiple and varyingly-sized diamonds integrated into it, all creating the form of a blooming lotus.

While the jeweler spoke of the significance of the ring's shape, of the ancient stories of the lotus and the flower's ability to rise from the mires and muds an unscathed source of purity and beauty, Mr. Gold's mind struggled to make the connection between himself and the ring. It felt distinctly like it had been _his _before. Like it had been his and he had intended it to be _hers_. Peculiar. Very peculiar. Ruby's eyes sparkled when the jeweler had finally ceased in the speech Mr. Gold had been too focused to hear. He knew the ring was meant for her. It called to him and she so obviously was intoxicated by the ring. It was _the _ring for his bride. Hang the cost. His bride-to-be slid the ring on her finger. It fit. It was a miracle, was it not? What had the jeweler said? Ah, yes. _Providence._ Mr. Gold was unsure of himself at the moment, but _was _sure that his Ruby was as enamored with the ring as he himself was.

"You've finally done your job, I think," he said to the jeweler. "We'll take it unless my lovely companion has any concerns."

Ruby shook her head and planted a wet kiss on Mr. Gold's cheek, leaving a perfectly formed imprint of her mouth in red lipstick on his skin. He did not deign to wipe it off.

"Very well, then. Box it up for me, if you don't mind."

She pouted.

"I can't wear it out?"

He tapped his cane on the floor, his eyes downcast for a moment before flicking to hers.

"It's not the proper way, love. You'll have your ring soon enough."

Begrudgingly, Ruby nodded, saddened she had to wait to see her ring again. She dutifully slid it off of her finger and handed it back to the jeweler, who boxed the bauble up with a flourish of crisp paper and tape. She wanted the ring, _desperately_, to sit on her finger in prim proclamation to the world that Mr. Gold loved her and that she returned the feeling whole-heartedly. They parted outside of the jewelery shop, Mr. Gold begging Ruby's indulgence for a few hours while he attended a few matters. His deals. She smiled knowingly. She could understand and live with his deals, provided none of them took him away from her.

He had given her a credit card with a smirk and advisement to spend whatever she liked for the inconvenience. Ruby's unhappiness with their time apart dissolved at the prospect of a shopping spree. She couldn't recall _ever _having one before. She passed by her grandmother's diner with a pang of both guilt and disappointment. She and Mr. Gold had not announced their relationship to the public at large, but she had attempted a conversation with the older woman shortly after her release from the hospital. Ruby did not get the chance to divulge the secret before she had the door promptly slammed in her face. She'd lost her only blood relation; it hurt, achingly so, but she couldn't dwell on it. However, with the way the whole of the town felt about her intended, she had no doubt she'd lose many, if not all, of her friends in the process of revealing their relationship. She hoped she could at least count on Ashley to stand by her, but, given the girl's history with Mr. Gold, their friendship would become tenuous, at best, unless the blonde was a saint.

Ruby sighed as she walked down the street, pondering. Well, she needed to find out if her best friend would be able to deal with her lover. If she couldn't, at least she would still have her Mr. Gold. He was all she needed. But, she still wanted some semblance of feminine acceptance and camaraderie. She wanted a close friend with whom she wasn't in love. Hell, she wanted someone who cared about her to listen when she complained that her husband was in the habit of leaving his socks helter skelter about their bedroom. The thought of Mr. Gold being anything but neat and organized brought a bubble of laughter to her throat. She just needed her friend. And if Ashley was indeed her true friend, she could accept Ruby loving someone rather unexpected. Had she not been so wrapped up in her musings, Ruby would have noticed her error prior to waking directly into the mayor. As it was, she was focused on twirling Mr. Gold's credit card through her fingers and musing over her troubles before she knocked into Regina as she rounded a corner, knocking the woman's coffee down the front of her white suit.

_Buggering hell. _This would not turn out well by the slightest imagination.

/

/

_Rumpelstiltsken had procured a ring. Nevermind the cost, it was worth it, would be worth it to see the rapture on her face when she was presented with the glorious piece of jewelery. He did not know precisely when to give it to the girl, however, and so he kept it hidden away for the opportune moment. He had traded a very valuable enchantment for this ring, had given the hope of a second chance to a being who did little to deserve it. But when he had seen the ring on display on the mantle piece of the prince who had so cruelly turned an old beggar away, he was taken. His Red deserved a piece of jewelry that was nearly as beautiful as herself. The former prince...a transformed beast had huddled before him, begged for a chance to redeem himself, to become human once again. Rumpelstiltsken had laughed, then produced a rose. The prince-beast sneered._

"_A flower? What good will a flower do to remedy the damage you have caused to my form?"_

"_Oh no, dearie," Rumpelstiltsken sing-songed, "This isn't just any rose. This rose will bloom beautifully, until your twenty-first birthday. Until that time, petals will fall, indicating the ticking of the clock to your doom or redemption. It is your only chance to gain your human form again."_

"_What must I do?" _

"_I would like that ring very much. On the mantel, sitting next to the candlestick."_

"_That candlestick was my manservant." _

_Rumpelstiltsken shrugged._

"_My wish is to have the ring. That is my only offer."_

_The prince-beast hesitated._

"_But, it has been in my family for generations…I could not possibly…."_

"_If you don't," Rumpelstiltsken teased, "your family line ends with you. No woman would mate with the beast you've been turned into."_

"_By your hand!" _

"_By my hand indeed! And by my hand and your own actions can you reverse the spell. The ring?"_

_The prince-beast handed over the ring without further delay. The rose was snatched from Rumpelstiltsken's hands by greedy claws. The imp laughed. _

"_Be careful with that now!"_

"_How does it work?" _

"_I told you. Until your twenty-first birthday will it bloom. If you can find love by that happy day, given and returned to you freely, the spell will be broken. Best keep it safe, you wouldn't want to expedite the process because of some clumsy finger-work!" _

"_And if I fail?"_

_With a flourish of smoke, Rumpelstiltsken was gone with the ring he so desired, leaving only his voice and a few twinkling pockets of stardust in his wake._

"_Then you shall remain a beast forever."_

_/_

_Author's Note:_

_I warred with myself whether or not to add this note, and I won...or lost. Whatever. I'm not partial to being on the defensive, and truthfully I'm not trying to do so here, but I feel I must address the stylistic choices I make, if only for the fact that I've gotten quite a few comments on my wordiness, as it were. Paragraphs, as I define them, are not limited to the standard grade school rules of three to seven sentences strung together. Paragraphs, much like the Imagination, are a slate for the unlimited…should they be indicative of a single or string of related thoughts? Yes. In most cases a definitive yes. I try to reflect that in my writing. In comparison to the paragraph rules so drilled into our students in earlier education, I would turn your attention to James Joyce and respectfully beg your indulgence in my overly-verbose tendencies while thanking the first star to the right I am not one of those very few writers who would attempt to write a 12,931 sentence, let alone a sinfully-long paragraph. I view my paragraphs, even the longer ones, as more...moralistically-challenged than sinful in terms of extensiveness. I count myself within the cluster of those at the happy medium, whose paragraphs (much like this one is beginning to be) can be voluminous, but are not so involved in a train of thought that readers are derailed and exhausted by the end of the journey. If I am incorrect in my feeling or in error in any way, I apologize and welcome your responses and criticisms. Thank you for your time and happy reading. _


	13. Chapter 13: Elemental

_ELEMENTAL_

"Love shouldn't make a beggar of one. I wouldn't want love if I had to beg for it, to barter or qualify it. And I should despise it if anyone ever begged for my love. Love is something that must be given - it can't be bought with words or pity, or even reason."

_(_Jacqueline Susann_, Valley of the Dolls)_

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Regina's eyes flared with disdain and anger over the clumsiness of the waitress. She sneered at her, vainly attempting to wipe the coffee off of her white suit.

"You imbecile! What the hell do you think you're doing wandering around the streets not watching where you're going? _"_

Ruby had the sense to blush and look sorrowful.

"I am _so _sorry, Madame Mayor! I didn't see you…I had my head in the clouds, I'm afraid."

Regina's eyes turned to untrusting slits as she noted the credit card in the girl's hand.

"Is this what's gotten you acting so senselessly, Ruby? Has some creditor actually taken pity on you and given you a credit card? Careful you don't rack up too much on there, dear, the interest will drown you."

"Give it back!"

Ruby reached for Mr. Gold's card, but her terror was increased when Regina pulled away from her grasping arms to read the cardholder's name aloud.

"_Mr. R. Gold_. Oh, Ruby! Stealing? I wish I could say I thought better of you."

"He gave it to me!"

Regina laughed.

"Right. Because Mr. Gold is known for his charity work."

Ruby bristled at the mayor's depreciating tone.

"Mr. Gold is a good man, despite what everyone in this town, especially you, may think of him. He paid my bills at the hospital, as I'm sure you're well aware. You've got your dirty hands in everything."

Regina offered a placating smile.

"Of course I knew that, dear, and I'm sure you paid for that service _quite _interestingly. Is that what this is? You're Mr. Gold's new…interest?"

Not wanting to reveal anything to the mayor, and still unsure of when Gold wanted their relationship revealed, Ruby remained uncharacteristically silent. Regina was given cause to sneer again.

"No answer? Hm. Well, if you have no qualms in defending your innocence, I have no qualms in finding you guilty until you decide to speak up."

Ruby struggled to understand just what the mayor meant when Emma Swan walked up the sidewalk. Regina smiled, for once _very _happy to see the new Sheriff.

"Miss Swan. What a happy coincidence! I was just about to call you."

The blonde blanched.

"Is Henry alright?"

Regina glared at her.

"My son is fine, Miss Swan. I was going to call you purely on a business matter. Arrest her," she said, pointing to Ruby.

Emma stared at her, unbelieving.

"Arrest Ruby? Whatever for?"

"Larceny and very likely fraud. She's stolen Mr. Gold's credit card, Miss Swan. She can't be allowed to roam the public streets spending stolen monies and likely stealing _more _people's credit cards."

Looking at Ruby and getting a rolling eyed shake of the head in response, she acquiesced to the mayor's request. She placed her hands on Ruby's shoulder and led her toward the holding center.

"Come on, Ruby, let's go get this sorted."

Regina raised a manicured eyebrow.

"That doesn't quite sound like the Miranda Rights, Miss Swan. Since your job is so _difficult _for you, I'll save you the trouble of returning the stolen goods. I'm sure Mr. Gold will be happy to have his credit card back."

The Sheriff sighed and Mirandized Ruby as they walked down the sidewalk, a frowning Regina staring after them.

/

When they returned to the station, Ruby stood before a jail cell and glanced at Emma.

"Well? Are you going to lock me up or what?"

Emma shook her head and motioned for Ruby to sit down at the chair opposite her desk.

"No. Sit. Please. Ruby…I know you didn't steal Gold's card, did you?"

Ruby sighed.

"Of course not."

"Then why…?"

"Because I shouldn't have to explain that to anyone, let alone Regina. She has no business asking me why he gave me his card. No one does."

"Sorry."

"I didn't mean…I didn't mean _you_, Emma. You know our whole situation. Well, most of it.," she added with a small beaming smile.

"Oh god. You're not pregnant, are you?"

Ruby laughed.

"No! But not for want of trying."

Emma shuddered.

"Too much information, Ruby."

"Sorry," she replied with a non-plussed grin. "I haven't been able to tell anyone this, but I know you won't mention it."

"I really don't think…"

"We're engaged!"

What ever Emma had expected Ruby to say, that was certainly not it. She was silent for a few moments, composing herself.

"Ah…when this happen?"

"This afternoon. He bought a ring."

Emma glanced at Ruby's bare left hand. The girl smiled becomingly, knowingly.

"He bought it today. He said I can't have it until he gives it to me in an appropriate manner. Isn't it just the most romantic thing?"

Emma's eyes widened, but she nodded, disbelieving.

"Uh, yeah. Romantic."

They sat in an uncomfortable silence until Mr. Gold burst into the office, eyes blazing, suit in as much disarray as Ruby had ever seen; that is to say, his suit coat was open and his tie was loosened. Even in fear, Mr. Gold was still fastidious. How he could have captivated Ruby's heart was unclear to Emma. Perhaps it was just his money. _That _made sense. What didn't make sense was the adoration flickering in her eyes for the older man, and the absolute affection radiating off the pair of them. Whatever Gold had done to her or for her, Emma did not care to know or imagine, but it was enough to assure her that there was _something _solid between them.

"I guess I'm to gather that you won't be pressing charges for the stolen card, Mr. Gold?"

The pawnbroker scoffed and extended his arm to Ruby, who took it and stood, smiling widely at him.

"Of course not, Miss Swan, and I'm surprised you even took the trouble to bring Ruby down here, knowing of our…situation…as you do."

Emma rolled her eyes.

"It was Regina, not me."

"I am well aware of that, Miss Swan."

Ruby's eyes flicked to his.

"Did she threaten you, Goldie? I'll rip her damn head off!"

He chuckled, patting her hand affectionately.

"Don't worry your pretty head about it, dove. It's all taken care of. Now, I do recall promising you a shopping trip, and _apparently _you can't do so without the mayor's involvement. Why don't I join you, hm? We'll make sure to keep my card s in my hands so you aren't arrested again."

Ruby laughed and the pair exited the station without another word to Emma, gazing at each other adoringly as they stepped. Emma sat back in her chair, awestruck and trying desperately _not _to think about the couple in compromising positions. When she was unable to do so, she stood and tromped out of the office, desperately hoping for something to cause a ruckus and divert her attentions.

/

/

"_I don't know why you insist on tooling around here, unattended, just to bring sustenance to that Snowflake when you could be doing so much more interesting things with me." _

_Red rolled her eyes at Rumpelstiltsken; she hated when he whined. Even more when she secretly agreed with his views. _

"_Rummy, please. You know how much I owe her." _

"_Quite a bit less than you owe me." _

"_And I do make good on my payments to you, do I not?" _

_He grinned, looked her up and down lecherously. _

"_Indeed you do, poppet." _

"_Snow just needs someone to listen to her and help her now…perhaps even more than she had before." _

_He giggled. _

"_Because of her brrrreaking heart?" _

_She sighed at his rolling Rs and laughter._

"_Yes. And it isn't funny, so you can stop laughing." _

_Rumpelstiltsken pouted. Quite literally pouted at her and it was all that Red could do to not jump him simply to take that enticing bottom lip between her teeth. _

"_Well, you certainly don't have to worry about a breaking heart, lovely," he sing-songed, though she felt the severity of his flickering brown eyes sparing brief glances her way. _

_Red smiled and pressed a soft kiss to his temple. She wouldn't change him for the world. _

"_Shall I find you at your fortress or the cottage when I finish with Snow?" _

"_The cottage, I think. Seems much more intimate, does it not?" _

_She grinned as he vanished. Indeed it did seem more intimate. But no time to dwell on that…she was very sure that she heard Snow just on the other side of the forest grove._


	14. Chapter 14: Act of Succession

ACT OF SUCCESSION

"Remember to look up at the stars and not down to your feet. Try to make sense of what you see and wonder about what makes the universe exist. Be curious. And however difficult life may seem, there is always something you can do and succeed at. It matters that you don't just give up."

(Professor Stephen Hawking)

/

Regina had attempted to intimidate him; _attempted_. She had failed, resoundingly, as she always did when attempting to push Mr. Gold into something into which he did not want to be strong-armed. Ruby was _his_. He would not give her up, despite anyone's concerns or refusals. He wouldn't allow Ruby to run away, he would most certainly not give into the mayor's attempt to make him do the same. Gold scoffed at the idea as he sat outside of yet another dressing room, waiting for his intended to emerge in yet another overpriced outfit; he insisted she try on the most expensive items, she was to be his wife, after all, she needed to look the part. Not that he would intentionally force her to change her stylistic choices; quite the contrary, he _liked _the skimpy outfits in which she paraded around. No, he just wanted her to feel and look the part, even if only at times.

They had ducked into Storybrooke's only haute couture shop; Ruby had _never_ been in there before, and spent the first thirty minutes in the store wandering around, wide-eyed. Gold didn't deign to mention to her that the majority of the clothing received here was long out-of-style; the dresses, while beautiful and hand-made, were from older collections. No matter. This was the best of the best that Storybrooke had to offer, and Gold would be remiss in his desire to splurge on Ruby if he didn't at least take her through _Andersen's_ _Attire_. They had been led through by a young, redheaded woman, who smiled becomingly at all of the choices Ruby had made, and held back a little giggle when Mr. Gold had motioned to or flat out grabbed certain pieces off of the shelves without Ruby's knowledge. He tapped his fingers impatiently on his cane. _What _was taking the girl so long?

"Ruby? Pet?"

A muffled cry and scrambling came from her changing room.

"Just a minute!"

He stifled a laugh.

"Are you sure you're quite alright?"

"Shut up!"

He smiled at the female assistant, Christina, waiting patiently outside of the dressing room when she flashed him a knowing smirk. The girl had been most accommodating in helping Ruby pick out the most suitable attire for their needs; she was conscious enough of the body language between the pair to almost immediately ascertain their relationship. Christina had little interest in the goings-on of Storybrooke which did not directly affect her; her non-discriminating personality and eagerness to assist them was not clouded by any preconceived notions of their places in the town. She didn't care. Gold was _very _glad of it. He had enough of other's caring too much about his business.

_Regina had burst into his pawnshop with brutal intent. He rolled his eyes and stood to greet her. She held up her hand, indicating she desired his silence. With an inward sigh, he allowed her to speak, uninterrupted. _

"_What the hell do you think you're doing?" _

_He raised an eyebrow._

"_At the moment, I was balancing my checkbook. Is there some reason I should be avoiding the habit?"_

_She scowled, a glare icy enough to turn a weaker man to stone. _

"_You know what I mean."_

"_I'm afraid I don't."_

_She slammed his credit card onto the counter. _

"_I thought I made it perfectly clear what I expected of you." _

"_And my Mastercard relates to this how?"_

"_I expect the citizens of Storybrooke to avoid making illegal transactions."_

_Gold could not contain his reproachful laughter. When he settled, he glared at Regina. _

"_So long as they don't benefit you."_

"_Gold, I'm warning you…."_

"_For whom I decide to purchase things is none of your concern, Ms. Mills. And there is nothing untoward in my relationship with Ruby, though that is also none of your concern. And, should I choose to spend the rest of my life with her, I would hope that you would wisely keep your damn nose out of my concerns, lest you come out of the scuffle with a destroyed career, family, and life."_

_He leaned closer to her, his eyes blazing._

"_Make no mistake, Regina, I am aware of everything that goes on in Storybrooke and beyond, and, while I intend on keeping it as it ever was, one misstep from your end on this subject will change my mind. I will destroy you, even if I have to destroy myself and everything else in this damn town to do so."_

_For once, Regina was speechless. Deep in the recesses of her queenly heart she knew his threats to be valid. Rumpelstiltsken, and his Storybrooke counterpart, would stop at nothing if he thought revenge would be his. Regina wasn't one to give in easily…but this was one battle she didn't really desire to fight; Gold was someone she wanted to keep on good terms…or at least civil terms. If he wanted to have the little red waitress forever linked to himself, so be it. It didn't effect her life, truly. She just wanted her say. _

"_I am just concerned, Mr. Gold. A young, beautiful girl taking an interest in you, of all people, and the second she gets you hooked, she's bounding around town with your credit card? I wanted to make sure everything was on the up and up."_

_Gold glared, clenching his jaw and grasping his cane between iron fingers. _

"_Get out of my shop."_

_She sighed and left without a further word; as soon as she was gone, Gold closed shop, grabbed his card, and went in search of Ruby. What had she done to the mayor to get her so riled? He stifled a smirk. He truly hoped Ruby was the cause of the coffee staining Regina's once-pristine white suit. _

A little, feminine gasp of approval broke Gold out of his musings. Christina was beaming before her, her green eyes admiringly gazing at his intended. Finally, _finally_, Ruby had emerged from the dressing room and stood before him, an unsure little smile on her full lips. The dress was Valentino; one Gold had taken off the shelves and handed over to Christina behind Ruby's back. Why the girl had tried it on first was a shock to him, but the effect was no less than startling. It was red; forever did he want Ruby clad in the color…it suited her. The dress was flowing and a becoming apple red. Its neckline was cut in a large tapering v, giving ample view of Ruby's bosom, and the bottom skirts were cut in a similar fashion, branching out into flowing fabric starting just above her mid-thigh. It was cinched at the waist with a slight crimson ridge, at the center of which sat a row of diamonds. The dress was everything his Ruby was; provocative, alluring, flashy, and romantic. His wide smile of approval was welcome to his lover; she was unsure he would approve of just how much skin would be showing on her body once she was his bride.

"It's perfect," he said, standing before her, his right hand cupping the small of her back and drawing her into a kiss.

Ruby tried the rest of the wardrobe on with reactions no-less charming, however, the red dress was still the glowing winner of the excursion. Bags in hand, she happily walked out of the store and on to the next, Mr. Gold watching after her, smiling, as they shopped together. In the end, Ruby was fitted with a near-ludicrous amount of clothing, shoes, and high-end makeups, and, for his part, Gold was as happy for her joyful countenance when they returned to his home almost as much as he was to finally be done shopping. Not that he loathed the activity completely, but there _was _a limit to even his patience. He had called ahead to his estate and informed them of his desired dinner to be ready for them when they arrived; Ruby used the time to call Ashley and plan a lunch date for the following day. She had to see if her best friend would stand by her in the coming months…for some reason, it could have been the cold dread crawling up her spine, she was sure she would need all the help she could get.

/

/

_Ella sat in her bedroom and wept; the hormones, the tension, her darling husband missing…it was all too much. She couldn't call on Snow for help; the princess was just slightly farther along in her pregnancy and had the added stress of the Wicked Queen's curse hanging over her head. So, she called for Red Riding Hood, her dear friend. _

_Her dear friend was a traitor. Red's heart burned for Rumpelstiltsken and raged at its proximity to the woman who was responsible for taking him away from her. But, what could she do? Ella called for her, begging for her friend to come and console her in her time of need. It was with a groan of regret that she gave in and made her way to Ella's castle; perhaps she could visit Snow afterwards, using exhaustion as an excuse to avoid going all the way home. She could see Rumpelstiltsken that way. Perhaps. She walked into the princess's bedroom quietly, listening to the woman's tortured weeping gasps. She sighed. This would be difficult. _

"_Ella?" _

_The princess looked up, eyes bloodshot, heart wretched. _

"_Oh, Red! I've lost him! I know Rumpelstiltsken was behind it...how will I ever go on without my love?"_

_Red shuddered, steeled herself against the pain wrenching her heart._

"_I don't know." _


	15. Chapter 15: Wishing Upon

WISHING UPON

"And so it has been and so it is written  
>On the doorway to paradise<br>That those who falter and those who fall  
>Must pay the price!<p>

Lord let me find him  
>That I may see him<br>Safe behind bars  
>I will never rest<br>Till then  
>This I swear<br>This I swear by the stars!"

(_Les Miserables, Stars_, Claude-Michel Schönberg)

/

_Ella was asleep, finally. She had wept for hours. It was sickening; Red could barely contain her anger towards the girl. It was her fault she was alone…it was her fault they were both alone. If she hadn't reneged on her deal with __Rumpelstiltsken__, Ella would have her prince and Red her lover. True, there was the subject of the royal's child to discuss, but Red was certain that her __Rumpelstiltsken would consider a different deal…of course, anyone willing to trade their first born for a shot at true love was a fool and deserved whatever pain they received. _

_She could not allow this anger to consume her; her lover had more than enough anger to account for the pair of them. But she couldn't help the resentment that bubbled up at everyone around her. She despised them. Despised their happiness, despised the fact that their relationships were accepted while hers was forced into the shadows…into the dungeon. _

_If she had the chance to do it all over again, Red would never keep her love a secret. _

_/_

_/_

Ruby lay in bed with Mr. Gold, dreading the day before her. She was having lunch with Ashley, one of her best friends, who knew _nothing _of her carnal exploits with the man sleeping next to her. She wondered at how she could broach the subject; she was in love with Mr. Gold, she wanted to keep Ashley as a friend, she wanted to stop living a lie. These were all truths. As to which ones were most important, there was no question. She would give up everything for Gold; but, no reason _not _to make an attempt at giving her friend a chance to accept her relationship.

As if sensing her discomfited state, Mr. Gold rolled over and sleepily gazed at her. She smiled faintly.

"Morning."

"Morning, poppet. What's going on in that pretty little head of yours?"

She sighed.

"I'm having lunch with Ashley today."

"I recall."

"Just nervous, I suppose."

"Embarrassed of me, love? We can continue on as we have…."

She silenced him with a kiss, drew back after plundering his mouth for a few moments. She shook her head and smiled.

"No. I'm not scared any longer, Goldie. I love you. I'm not ashamed of you…of us. I'm glad to be yours."

In her haste to ready herself for the day, Ruby didn't notice Mr. Gold's expression as she headed towards the bathroom to shower and dress. He stared blankly in front of himself, as if watching images of his past pass through his field of vision. The kiss broke his curse; true love, unashamed, freely given, unrepentant. He shuddered as he realized how much he had forgotten, how much time he had lost. _28 years_. Truth be told, the reality of his identity had always been niggling at the back of his mind; how to remind Red of her true history was the real concern. A thought occurred. He chuckled.

Ruby hummed in the shower; a tune of unknown origin passed her lips. When the curtain was drawn back and Mr. Gold climbed in to join her, she silenced and smiled.

"Time for a quickie, sugar?"

He grasped her hair in his hands and drew her into a demanding kiss; his plundering tongue begging for her to remember. When he drew back, she smiled, but no instant recognition seemed to flash in her mind. Disappointed but not discouraged, Mr. Gold snaked his hands down her torso, fondling a breast as he pushed his fingers into her already moist slit. She groaned in response; arched against him. He worked her into a frenzy; she came in a fit of pulsing moans and hitched breaths. Before she could fully recover from the spasms still coursing through her, Gold thrust his readied cock into her. She gasped and pushed back against him as he rocked into her at a frantic rhythm. He would try every outlet to restore his love's memories; he hoped, vainly, that she would just _remember_. Focusing on the task at hand, he thrust into her with long, hard strokes until she pulsed around him again. He allowed himself release, grunting his ecstasy into her.

It wasn't sufficient.

Ruby, still oblivious to her past, but quite content about the present, left Gold in the cooling shower and dressed with haste. She called out a goodbye before leaving him to ponder his next steps in frigid water.

/

/

Salads and white wine sat untouched before them. Ruby's eyes were rimmed with tears, but Ashley's look of disgust would not be removed from her pretty face.

"Ash, please…I can't help who I love."

Ashley scoffed.

"You couldn't have picked a worse person to love, Ruby. He wanted to take my baby."

"You made a deal with him…you knew…"

"He. Wanted. To. Take. My. Baby," Ashley ground out, enunciating every single word through her grit teeth. "And you want me to accept that person just because he can get your rocks off?"

"That's not why I care about him, Ash."

"Please stop calling me that. Only my friends call me that."

Ruby's eyes widened.

"What are you saying?"

Ashley stood, tossed a few dollars on the table, and glared at Ruby.

"I think it should be pretty evident, Ruby. I can't be your friend if you're with him…and you won't leave him. I wish you the best of luck. You're going to need it with that scumbag."

As Ashley stalked away, Ruby's innate sense of rage boiling beneath her surface emerged.

"He's what I need, Ashley…and all I need. If you can't be my friend despite your dislike of Mr. Gold, you were never a true friend."

Ashley didn't respond, but walked silently away from the restaurant. Ruby let out a controlled breath; she glanced around at the patrons trying ever-so-subtly to catch wind of what the girls had been discussing.

"I'm engaged to Mr. Gold, since you're all so invested in hearing my business."

With a scowl on her face, Ruby ran out of the restaurant and climbed into her car. She sat for a moment, tears threatening to fall, before closing the door with an angry slam. The force dislodged the crystalline wolf hanging from her rearview mirror. It fell on her dashboard and shattered into tiny, sparkling shards. She gasped, stared ahead blankly.

_She had to find__ Rumpelstiltsken_.

/

Author's note:

So, I have to apologize for the _severe _delay. Not entirely my fault, though...my computer died. As in _died _died, and I had to wait until my sob story affected my father enough that he bought me a new computer. :) Which is great. I should be fully functioning on my new 'puter (side note: always back up your files on a free-standing medium like a flash drive), and hopefully won't be too long in wrapping this story up. Those who've stuck with me, I sincerely thank you. /blb


	16. Chapter 16: Cacophony

CACOPHONY  
>"If you want to be happy, be."<p>

(Leo Tolstoy)

Ruby and Mr. Gold's relationship had never been more solidified than it was that particular day. The realization that they shared the real remembrance of their true world did not come with such harried difficulties as either had expected; in truth, Ruby had left her former friend and returned to her lover's home, shaking and terrified that she alone remembered. Gold had met her in the driveway, knowing in an instant what the fiery eyes and makeup melting across her cheeks signified, but waiting for her assurance. When she called out to him, her lilting voice echoing in his waiting ears; a simple moniker, one he _loathed _until this point would forever be cherished, even in his wretched heart. Ruby ran to him, arms outstretched, gaze flickering.

"Rummy!"

They had come together; he buried his face in her neck, breathed in her scent, held her close, heard his name, his _true _name, on her blessed lips over and over again. He coaxed her back into his home, barely able to contain his rapture that his Red was fully his again. She had looked into his eyes, the huntress that she was fully apparent, and his heart had soared. They'd coupled frantically, animals rutting in the careful décor of his living room; once their baser passions were sated, they had taken to planning their next steps, sipping tea and plotting Regina's demise.

"How long have you known, Rummy?"

He smiled at the name, would never berate her for its use again.

"Just since this morning. It's always been in the back of my mind, though, clamoring to be freed. I'd see glimpses, recollections, but it would vanish before I could fully realize what it signified. And yourself, precious?"

"I believe we have Cinderella…Ashley, rather, to thank for that."

"I take it the maid queen didn't care for your schtooping the town's evil miser?"

Ruby laughed, sipped her tea as her eyes sparkled at her lover.

"Not in the slightest; the memory is a little hazy, though, it's like I was there, but I wasn't fully in control, you know?"

He nodded.

"Quite."

"Felt good to stand up to her, though, to everyone, really."

"And that proved to usher you into the realm of truth?"

She shook her head.

"No. My wolf broke. I was so mad I slammed my car door and down it came."

Gold smiled.

"With how often you've nearly broken that wretched thing…."

"You _gave _me that wretched thing, Rumpelstiltsken."

"Indeed I did, dearie. Remind me to thank myself later."

"And what was it that woke you from your slumber, my dear Rummy?"

"True love's kiss, I would suppose."

She raised an eyebrow.

"We've been doing that and quite a bit more for years now, love."

"Ah, but love was the key. It always is, it seems."

"I've told you of my love plenty of times."

"Never without avoiding the full ramifications of loving me."

"Do you resent me for that?"

"I could never resent you, Red. Now, we have some unfinished business to attend to."

Ruby blushed, a sultry look returning to her demeanor.

"Again? I recall you being insatiable, but Rummy…."

He laughed, a musical, high pitched cackle that warmed her very soul.

"There will be time for that later, pet. We have a curse and a queen to break."

/

/

Word spread through Storybrooke like wildfire. The untamed waitress and the town's resident ogre had found themselves drawn together; they were to be wed. Feelings were as diverse as the residents themselves: disgust, confusion, concern for Miss Ruby's mental faculties, and one or two faint voices of support echoed throughout the town. The most ardent of the detractors was, but of course, Mayor Mills. Regina couldn't believe that Gold had done anything particularly legal to coerce Ruby into agreeing to such an unpalatable act. _Marry Mr. Gold…marry Rumpelstiltsken? _The thought filled the mayor with rage, confusion, and queasiness. How such a creature could be worthy of any type of love was beyond her capability to comprehend; and that which Regina could not comprehend, she would not allow.

Regina made it apparent at every opportunity that she did not approve of the marriage; she scowled at the pair whenever they crossed paths, threatened each of them, and voiced her displeasure whenever the subject arose in company. This did nothing to dissuade Ruby and Mr. Gold from planning their nuptials, rather, it served only to push them forward. Fear of incurring the wrath of the powerful mayor would have frightened Ruby, should have frightened her, if not for her recollection of her true identity; the mayor, the _Queen_, could do nothing to her here, not with Rumpelstiltsken by her side. The pair sat in a comfortable silence in his pawn shop; Ruby, unemployed and ostracized as she was from her only blood relation, had taken to helping her lover clean and dust his collection of trinkets. Of memories.

The interest in their relationship had swelled almost to a breaking point and then, as quickly as it had grown, it stopped. They had Mary Margaret to thank for that. The ever-suffering woman and her "married" beau had been caught in flagrante delicto as it were. If that wasn't difficult enough for the poor woman, Kathryn had gone missing. So engrossed as they were on hating and blaming Mary Margaret for the disappearance of David's "wife," the town had all but forgotten the wayward waitress and her older lover, which was just as the pair preferred it. But, Ruby still held Snow's friendship somewhat close to her heart. She had to reach out to her, comfort her in her time of need.

"Rummy, it will make it easier for us once the curse is broken."

He scoffed.

"How so, pray tell? How will siding with Snow in this battle of sensibilities make any difference whatsoever?"

"She'll trust you."

"She trusted me before…trusted me to tell her the truth, at the very least. Didn't stop her from locking me up underneath her castle, in accommodations I hope you vividly recall. I shall not be going back to that, I assure you."

"This could help you avoid that fate, darling."

"And your word won't help enough? I am shocked," he sing-songed, his hands enunciating his mocking tone. "I thought your importance on the war tribunal was enough to save me from my deserved fate."

"Shut up."

"Eloquence. That _must _be the reason you sit in such a prestigious seat."

"What harm can it do? Regina can't hate us any more than she already does, and it seems she has a full plate with Snow and Emma battling for her most loathed adversary."

He sighed, knowing when a battle was lost.

"If you wish to extend the proverbial olive branch, my sweet, feel free. Lord knows you could use some female companionship."

"And what is _that _supposed to mean?"

"Nothing, precious."

Ruby raised a brow and stood before him, stoic and unflappable.

"That's right, nothing."

The tiny bell above the entryway to Gold's pawnshop jingled loudly, clattering to the floor with the intensity of the push that threw his door open. He glared, hating the intrusion and the misuse of his establishment; the glare softened ever so slightly when he noted their guest. Emma, both visibly shaken and angered, glared at Mr. Gold, paying no mind to Ruby.

"Gold, what did you do?"

Fully unaware of any misdeed done recently, Gold shrugged.

"Haven't the faintest, dearie. You'll have to be more specific."

"Kathryn is missing. We found…we found a human heart buried in the woods."

"And you think I have something to do with this?" He scoffed. "If you haven't noticed, Miss Swan, I don't like to get my hands dirty; not in _that _particular manner, anyway."

Emma's eyes were lost, searching.

"Please. She's my only…she's my only friend."

"Kathryn? I didn't think the two of you were that close."

She struggled not to shoot the pawnbroker.

"Mary Margaret."

"What does she have to do with the organ in the box, dearie?"

"She's been accused…she's the lead suspect in her murder."

Ruby inhaled sharply, her gaze steady on Mr. Gold.

"Rummy, it's Regina. We _have _to fight her. We have to save Snow…er, Mary Margaret, rather."

The dislodged bell had allowed Henry to slip in unbeknownst to the adults who contemplated the possible demise of two lives. His face lit up when he heard Mary Margaret referred to in such a manner. He couldn't contain his joy. Mr. Gold and Ruby could be the key to breaking the curse…or at least to getting his mother, his _real _mother, to believe in the stories which he so readily accepted as truth.

/

Author's note: I hope to close this story within a short period of time. I hate leaving things unfinished; I beg your forgiveness for my absence. Death in my close family, change in employment, and a few weeks spent focusing on deciding if and when my husband and I want to start reproducing drew me away and did a number on my muse. I'm out of sorts still, more from the death in the family than anything else. If this most recent chapter isn't sufficient, please let me know. I'm hoping that it and the following chapters which will end this story can make up for lost time. For those of you still reading, thank you. /blb


	17. Chapter 17: Paradise Regained

PARADISE REGAINED

"And we should consider every day lost on which we have not danced at least once. And we should call every truth false which was not accompanied by at least one laugh."

(Friedrich Nietzsche)

/

"I was right!"

Emma turned to face him, her eyes wide and searching.

"Kid! What are you doing here?"

He paid no mind to his mother, instead, moved towards Gold and Ruby. Henry smiled; his eyes sparkled in mirth and finally realized affirmation.

"They're going to break the curse. They're going to save Mary Margaret and break the Evil Queen's curse!"

"What are you talking about?"

"Ruby just called Mary Margaret 'Snow,' as in Snow White? And she called him Rummy."

"People have pet names for each other in relationships, kid."

He shook his head.

"No. That's not what that was."

He looked at Mr. Gold.

"Rummy…you're Rumpelstiltsken!"

Emma sighed, turning an apologetic glance to Gold and Ruby.

"Sorry. We'll be going now."

"I'm serious! They found their happy ending! True love's kiss will break the curse!"

"Yep, and I'm sure that Mr. Gold and Ruby are super interested in those plans, so we'll leave them to it. Let's go."

Henry ventured a smiling glance at the couple as his mother ushered him out of the door. Gold turned his attention to Ruby, the hint of a smile ghosting his own lips.

"True love, eh?"

Ruby's eyes sparkled.

"I guess so."

"Clearly I'm the Beauty in our little tale."

"Making me the beast? Need I remind you that _you_, my dear Rumple, are the aggressor in our little evening exercises?"

"Maybe initially."

She shrugged, but remained silent.

"Certainly not last night, if memory serves, dearie."

A smile broke from her attempted stoic attitude.

"Dammit. I can never stay mad at you."

"It's my winning personality."

She raised an eyebrow.

"Try again."

"Boyish good looks?"

"0 for 2."

Suddenly he was flush up behind her, his hands snaking around to grip her hips, his pelvis grinding into her backside. She moaned and arched against him, her breath ragged and strained. He leaned in, brushed her hair from her ear. His breath was hot against her ear, his voice gravelly and deep.

"I have another guess, don't I, dearie?"

Her mouth was too dry to speak, so Ruby simply nodded. He chuckled behind her, his voice now the higher pitch she had recalled from another lifetime.

"If it's not my charm or my looks, it must be this."

In one fluid motion, he pushed up her skirt and thrust into her waiting passage. She groaned, meeting his thrusts with her own. When his hand moved forward to manipulate her swollen bud, Ruby cried out. They met their ecstasy quickly; their coupling frantic and passionate. Ruby shuddered as Gold withdrew his softening member from her; she righted her clothes and turned to face him with a grin.

"That would definitely be why."

With a quick kiss on his lips, she was gone, flitting away to carry out her portion of the tasks set before them.

/

/

It had been two weeks since their relationship had come to light in earnest. Gold had done his part in getting Mary Margaret acquitted of her crimes; to his credit, he hardly reminded Ruby of that fact on a daily basis. Their town was changing, the Queen's stranglehold on their lives weakening with each passing moment. It left Rumpelstiltsken to wonder just what would finally break the curse; he certainly took every opportunity to kiss his bride-to-be. The Savior's child had called it true love; if true love's kiss didn't break this curse, what would?

He straightened his bow tie in the mirror, bringing himself back to the task at hand. He would make Ruby his today, in this world more than he had in their own. Briefly he considered the possibility that the slip of a woman would request a ceremony in their own land, once they returned. It didn't matter. He would do it. He was a fool in love; had been for decades now.

The whole of the town seemed to have shown up to see the pawnbroker marry the former waitress; Regina's invitation was misplaced, somehow, but the mayor managed to show up nonetheless. She flashed Gold an icy smile from her seat in the back of the church. He fought the urge to roll his eyes. The Queen could be so very petty. It was of little consequence what the monarch did as his eyes drifted to the vision walking towards him. His Ruby…his Red…was walking down the aisle towards him, her face aglow with joy. She was no demure angel simpering in white tulle; she was his Red, his huntress, draped in a fitted crimson ball gown. The roses she carried were golden and ivory; he cared naught for what genetic manipulations went into creating a golden rose, but cared more for what her choice symbolized. He was accepted. He was loved. He was hers.

Their wedding progressed. Vows exchanged. Love expressed. The priest's smile dampened, he glanced at the crowd with a solemn glare that could make any parishioner quake in his Sunday boots.

"If any man has any reason why these two should not be wed, speak now, or forever hold your peace."

Regina's elegant hand rose from the back of the church. The priest, surprised for a moment, regained his composure and nodded.

"Madam Mayor?"

"The girl is not in her right mind. Hasn't been since he began controlling her life."

"That is hardly grounds to object."

"Is it? She has been brainwashed! Obviously! How else could she come to marry a man who holds her financial stability in his hands?"

Gold was fuming; he opened his mouth to speak, but found his darling Ruby in the midst of a tirade.

"_You _will sit down. _You _were not invited. How _dare _you insinuate that I feel anything less than complete love for Rum…er...Raoul. Just because you couldn't hold onto love, doesn't mean that the rest of us should be resigned to the same lonely fate."

Regina's blood boiled at the statement. How dare the little tramp speak to her in such a manner? She wasn't about to wait around to see if the little tart marrying Rumpelstiltsken would break her beautiful curse. The very idea! She stood to leave, glaring at the pair before stalking towards the door. Gold called after her.

"Don't leave, Majesty. Wouldn't you like to see how it ends?"

Gold took Ruby in his arms and kissed her deeply, pouring all of the passion and love he could muster into the act. When they broke away and nothing had changed, Regina laughed.

"It all ends the same, Gold. The world doesn't change. _I _don't change. You don't change."

Ruby grasped Gold's hand in her own, gazed into his eyes.

"It doesn't matter. As long as we're together. I love you, Rumpelstiltsken."

The earth quaked. Those attending the festivities screamed, scattered towards the door as the church began to crumble around them. The floor lurched, sending Gold and Ruby flying against opposite sides of the church. Gold attempted to regain footing, but slid to the floor again as the ground groaned beneath him. Amidst the screams, he could single out his Red's. He called to her, but his voice was most assuredly lost in the din of the noisy church. As the ground lurched again, his eyes frantically searched for her. A flash of red and black before his eyes stole the call from his lips. Ruby grasped onto his chest, burying her face in his shoulder.

"Rum! What is happening?"

He shook his head, unknowing, unsure.

"I don't know, love. Just close your eyes, hm?"

She did as she was instructed, closing her eyes tight and holding onto her lover for dear life. The screams stopped. The world around them was silent, the earth's movements stilled. Ruby opened her eyes, expecting to see the familiar fairy tale landscape around them again. They were not in their homeland. They were still in Storybrooke. But they were very much alone. She looked up at Gold, her gaze uncertain.

"Rum? What's going on?"

"It would appear that we broke the curse."

"But we're still here."

"So it would seem."

"Is everyone else…?"

"Back in our world? I would venture to guess so."

"So we're stuck here?"

He smiled, relieved and terrified at the same time.

"We were spared, love."

"Spared?"

"Yes. We've been left in this world."

"In the land without magic? But, Rum, you love magic."

"I do. But I love you more."

She smiled, her eyes brimming with tears.

"And I love you."

"That's all the magic I need, then."

"What are we going to do here? Without our friends? Without magic?"

"Red, my love, we're going to live."

/

~The End~

/

Author's Note:

Thanks for reading. Sorry about the wait; I've found myself a Rumbelle shipper as of late and the ending for this was a difficult thing for me to write, I guess. I've been mulling it about in my head for a while now and just decided to shut up and put it to paper, er, computer. :) Hope you enjoyed the journey.


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